RFID label, method for producing the RFID label, device for producing the RFID label, sheet member (tag sheet) used for the RFID label, and cartridge attached to the device for producing the RFID label

ABSTRACT

A method for producing a RFID label comprises conveying a first label base material which is transparent from a first holding portion holding the first label base material, forming an image on a surface of the first label base material, conveying a second label base material including at least one of a RFID antenna conductor and an IC chip from a second holding portion holding the second label base material and joining the second label base material and the first label base material on which an image has been formed together, wherein, when an image is formed on the first label base material, the image is formed on a surface of the first label base material, the surface being joined to the second label base material.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) labelin which information data wirelessly sent from outside can be stored orfrom which information data can be wirelessly read toward the outside, amethod for producing the RFID label, a device for producing the RFIDlabel, a sheet member used for the RFID label, and a cartridge that canbe mounted on the producing device.

Conventionally, a data capturing system for capturing data aboutarticles of commerce while using RFID labels, in each of which an ICchip or the like is embedded, is known as an example of a system inwhich data stored in such a RFID label is wirelessly exchanged (seePatent Document 1, for example).

For example, an electromagnetic induction method is applied to the RFIDlabel used in the data capturing system. According to this method, whenthe RFID label attached to an article enters a magnetic field, anelectromotive force is generated in a resonance circuit as a result ofelectromagnetic induction, and, based on the electromotive force, radiowaves are emitted.

In this system, a reflected wave returned from the RFID label isreceived by a receptor, and, based on the reflected wave receivedthereby, data pre-stored in the RFID label can be remotely read.Therefore, this system can be used for various purposes of use.

If the fact that data has once been captured from the RFID labelattached to the article is stored, it is possible to, for example, soundan alarm to the effect that the article has been unlawfully taken outwithout capturing data. For example, a bar code is printed on the RFIDlabel. When articles of commerce are lawfully taken out, the bar code isscanned with a scanner so as to read and gather data, and, at the sametime, radio waves are emitted from a transmitter mounted on the scanner.Its internal circuit is then short-circuited or opened so as to stop theoperation of an IC chip embedded in the RFID label. As a result, itbecomes possible to take out only an article from which data has beengathered. However, if an article to which a RFID label has been attachedand which does not have the data storage of having gathered data istaken out, the IC chip responds to radio waves sent from thetransmitter, i.e., from an interrogator, and emits a reflected wave.Therefore, it is judged that the article has been unlawfully taken out,and an alarm is sounded.

If the origin of an article, the production time or shipment timethereof, the kind thereof, the price thereof, etc., are wirelesslywritten and prestored onto the RFID label attached to the article,consumers can remotely obtain these pieces of information about eacharticle.

According to a conventional technique, in order to form an image on aRFID label used in the thus operated system, for example, an IC chipknown as a RFID chip and a RFID antenna conductor, which are RFIDcircuit elements, are first embedded in a band-shaped sheet member so asto form a RFID label, and then an image of, for example, a bar code isprinted onto one surface of the RFID label.

[Patent Document 1] JP Patent No. 2843437

However, when put to practical use, the RFID label has still-unsolvedproblems concerning the printing of identification items attached to thelabel and concerning the IC chip and the antenna conductor embedded inthe label.

For example, in order to attach an image to the RFID label, if the imageis formed after forming the RFID label including an IC chip and otherelements, the image will be distorted by the influence of the concavityand convexity of an image forming surface generated by the thickness ofthe IC chip or the other elements, or will become unclearly blurred bycontact between the image forming surface and an object. Additionally,in a thermal method for forming an image by applying heat to an imageforming surface, there is a possibility that, when the image is formed,heat applied to the RFID label will cause damage onto the resonancecircuit and the IC chip contained in the RFID label or onto a joint partjoining to the antenna conductor.

Additionally, when a sheet member used for the RFID label containing theIC chip, the antenna conductor, etc., is stored, the part of the IC chipor the antenna conductor is expanded in proportion to the thickness ofthe IC chip or the antenna conductor. Therefore, the sheet member hasdifficulty in maintaining a close contact state with another sheetmember contiguous in the thickness direction when the sheet member iswound, and hence a gap or looseness will easily occur between the sheetmembers. If the sheet member for the RFID label is wound withoutreducing such a gap caused by the thickness of the IC chip or theantenna, the number of sheets that can be stored in a storage area willbe lowered, and the frequency at which sheet members used for the RFIDlabel are newly added will be heightened. If many labels are intended tobe stored, the storage area will be enlarged, and hence the whole of adevice for producing the RFID label must been larged. Additionally,there is a possibility that abrasion or the occurrence of staticelectricity caused by the friction occurring when the wound sheetmembers slip out of place will damage the IC chip, the antenna member,or at least one of the sheet members.

Additionally, although the RFID label is formed by arranging the IC chipand the antenna conductor connected thereto on one surface of theband-shaped sheet member, an area in which the IC chip and the otherelements are disposed is partially thickened. Therefore,disadvantageously, for example, a cartridge requires a sufficientstorage space for a band-shaped RFID label that is stored in a woundstate like a roll and that has not yet been cut and for ashort-piece-shaped RFID label that is stored in a cut state. The sameapplies to a label base material (sheet member) that has not yet beencovered with a cover sheet.

In a RFID label producing device for producing the conventional RFIDlabel in which the IC chip that has a RFID function and the RFID antennaconductor are embedded, the IC chip and the RFID antenna conductor eachof which has a great thickness are embedded in the band-shaped sheetmember, and hence the IC chip and the antenna conductor protrude fromthe sheet member. Therefore, the amount of protrusion of these elementsis superposed when the band-shaped sheet member is wound like a roll.When this band-shaped sheet member (tag tape roll) is loaded into thedevice to produce a RFID label, the IC chip and the antenna conductorare pressed by a carrier roller in a label producing process. As aresult, a load is imposed on the IC chip and the antenna conductor.Therefore, there is a fear that a circuit in the IC chip will beshort-circuited, or a change in quality of the IC chip will bring aboutthe loss of identification data stored in the IC chip, or the IC chip,the antenna conductor, and a joint part between the IC chip and theantenna conductor will be damaged. Additionally, there is a fear that,when the band-shaped sheet member from which an informationdiscriminating portion that contains the antenna conductor and the ICchip protrudes is carried by the roller, the sheet member will becarried unstably and obliquely while being affected by a protruded part,or the feed speed will vary before and behind the protruded part in aprocess for performing a printing step on the band-shaped sheet memberfrom which the information discriminating portion protrudes, so thatprinting defects, such as stains or shear in printing, occur.

Therefore, in consideration of the foregoing problems, it is a firstobject of the present invention to excellently maintain the state of animage printed on a RFID label used to wirelessly exchange data withoutdamaging an IC chip and other elements embedded in the label when thelabel is produced. Additionally, with regard to keeping a sheet memberused for the RFID label, it is a second object of the present inventionto more efficiently put the sheet member without damaging the sheetmember when the sheet member is loaded into a RFID label producingdevice. It is a third object of the present invention to provide a sheetmember used for the RFID label that can reduce the whole of the RFIDlabel member and that is spatially advantageous. It is a fourth objectof the present invention to provide a RFID label producing device and acartridge each of which has no fear that a circuit in an IC chip will beshort-circuited, no fear that a change in quality of the IC chip willbring about the loss or crash of identification data, or no fear that aRFID antenna conductor or a joint part between the IC chip and theantenna conductor will be damaged.

On the other hand, a conventional tape printer (label producing device)has already been proposed in which a tape used as a material to beprinted is loaded into a cartridge (cassette) in a rolled manner, isthen drawn out from a roll so as to print desired characters onto thetape, and is discharged like a label (see Patent Document 2, forexample).

In this conventional technique, two rolls are provided. One of them is aroll on which abase-material tape (double-faced adhesive tape) is wound,and the other is a roll on which a to-be-printed tape (film tape), ontowhich characters are printed and which is glued to the base-materialtape, is wound. Predetermined characters are printed onto theto-be-printed tape while drawing out the base-material tape and theto-be-printed tape from the two rolls, respectively. Thereafter, theto-be-printed tape on which the characters have been printed and thebase-material tape are glued together so as to produce a label.

At this time, a gluing adhesive layer to be glued onto the to-be-printedtape is provided on one side of a main tape part (base layer) of thebase-material tape, whereas an affixing adhesive layer used to affix aproduced label onto a specified object is provided on the opposite sideof the main tape part. Further, the affixing adhesive layer is coveredwith a pattern sheet of paper that is peeled off when affixed.Therefore, a label formed by gluing the to-be-printed tape and thebase-material tape together has a five-layer structure consisting of theto-be-printed tape layer, the gluing adhesive layer of the base-materialtape, the base layer, the affixing adhesive layer, and the pattern sheetof paper.

[Patent Document 2] Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No.H7-314831 (see FIG. 1 and FIG. 2)

Referring to the tag mentioned above, if information, which is relativeto RFID tag information stored in the IC chip but is independent of theRFID tag information, is printed on the label and is used, the relatedinformation can be visually checked from the side of users, and willserve the convenience of the users in various ways. Accordingly, amethod can be proposed to produce a RFID label on which characters areprinted and that contains a RFID circuit element by employing theconventional technique. In this method, the RFID circuit element isdisposed in either the gluing adhesive layer or the affixing adhesivelayer of the five-layer structure.

However, if the RFID circuit element is disposed in the affixingadhesive layer, an adhesive layer part that is closer to the patternsheet than the RFID circuit element and that contributes substantiallyto affixing will be thinned (i.e., the quantity of adhesive will bereduced). As a result, there is a possibility that a sufficient adhesiveforce cannot be obtained in affixing. There is also a possibility thatthe RFID circuit element will be damaged since a reaction force that isgenerated by pressing and that is given from a surface to be affixed iseasily applied onto the circuit element when affixed.

On the other hand, if the RFID circuit element is disposed in the gluingadhesive layer, an adhesive layer part that is closer to theto-be-printed tape than the RFID circuit element and that contributessubstantially to gluing will be thinned (i.e., the quantity of adhesivewill be reduced) in the same way as the above example. As a result,there is a possibility that a sufficient adhesive force cannot beobtained in gluing. There is also a possibility that the RFID circuitelement will be damaged since a reaction force that is generated bypressing and that is given from a gluing means (a roller) is easilyapplied onto the circuit element when glued. Additionally, if theto-be-printed tape is transmissible (e.g., transparent orsemitransparent), the RFID circuit element disposed in the gluingadhesive layer will be clearly seen (i.e., is exposed in appearance)from the side of the label surface beyond the to-be-printed tape. As aresult, there arise disadvantages, such as externally undesirablematters or illegibleness.

A fifth object of the present invention is to provide a RFID label thatcan prevent a RFID circuit element from being damaged or being exposedin appearance when produced, a tag tape used to produce the RFID label,and a tag tape roll. According to the present invention, the RFIDcircuit element can be prevented from being damaged, and can avoid beingexposed in appearance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The first object indicated above may be achieved according to theprinciple of the present invention in claim 1, which provides a methodfor producing a RFID label, the method comprising: conveying a firstlabel base material which is transparent from a first holding portionholding the first label base material; forming an image on a surface ofthe first label base material; conveying a second label base materialincluding at least one of a RFID antenna conductor and an IC chip from asecond holding portion holding the second label base material; andjoining the second label base material and the first label base materialon which an image has been formed together, wherein, when an image isformed on the first label base material, the image is formed on asurface of the first label base material, the surface being joined tothe second label base material. According to the RFID label producingmethod of claim 1, it becomes possible to realize at least one of thefact that the IC chip and other elements included in the RFID label arenot damaged and the fact that an image printed on the RFID label is keptin an excellent state. In other words, if an image is formed on the RFIDlabel after joining the first label base material which is transparentand the second label base material including at least one (hereinafter,referred to as the “IC chip or the like”) of the RFID antenna conductorand the IC chip together, there is a fear that the heat or pressureapplied when the image is formed will damage the RFID antenna conductorand other elements included in the RFID label, and there is a fear that,for example, a concave and a convex generated by the IC chip or the likewill appear on the surface of the RFID label, and hence the image cannotbe formed in a normal manner. Therefore, as in the present invention(claim 1), an image is formed on the first label base material that doesnot include the IC chip or the like before joining the first label basematerial and the second label base material together. Additionally, tomaintain the quality of an image formed as above, when an image isformed on the first label base material, the image is formed on asurface to be joined to the second label base material of the firstlabel base material.

The invention in claim 2 provides a RFID label wherein being producedaccording to the method of claim 1. In this RFID label, an image isformed on the surface to be joined to the second label base material ofthe first label base material, and the image-formed surface is coveredwith the second label base material. According to the RFID labelaccording to claim 2, since no element comes into contact with theimage-formed surface directly from outside, the image formed thereon canbe prevented, for example, from being worn out, and the image can bekept in an excellent state.

The invention in claim 3 provides a device for producing a RFID labelwhich put into practice the invention in claim 1, the device comprising:a first holding portion that holds a first label base material which istransparent; a second holding portion that holds a second label basematerial including at least one of a RFID antenna conductor and an ICchip; a joining means for adjusting the first label base material andthe second label base material in a width direction and joining thefirst and second label base materials together while conveying the firstlabel base material and the second label base material; a conveying-pathforming means for forming a conveying path to convey the first labelbase material and the second label base material along mutuallydifferent paths from each of the first and second holding portions to aposition at which the first label base material and the second labelbase material are joined together by the joining means; and an imageforming means for forming an image on one side of the first label basematerial on the conveying path of the first label base material formedby the conveying-path forming means; wherein the image forming meansforms an image on a surface of the first label base material, thesurface being joined to the second label base material. That is, for thesame reason as in the invention of claim 1, an image is formed on oneside of the first label base material, i.e., on a surface to be joinedto the second label base material of the first label base material bythe image forming means on the conveying path before joining the firstlabel base material and the second label base material together.According to the RFID label producing device of claim 3, the imageformed on the RFID label can be kept in an excellent state withoutdamaging the circuit and other elements included in the RFID label.

The first label base material and the second label base material may bejoined together by, for example, a means for pressing the whole of theRFID label, which is used as the joining means, more preferably, by thejoining means in claim 4, which consists of a pair of rollers betweenwhich the first label base material and the second label base materialare sandwiched, and the first label base material and the second labelbase material are joined together by rotations of each of the rollerswhile being conveyed. According to the RFID label producing device ofclaim 4, since the first and second label base materials are joinedtogether successively from the end of each label base material by thepair of rollers serving as the joining means, air is discharged from theinside of the RFID label formed by joining the label base materialstogether. Therefore, the external appearance can be prevented from beingimpaired by air put into the RFID label.

The present invention in claim 5 provides the device of claim 4 whereinthe first holding portion, the second holding portion, theconveying-path forming means, and one of the two rollers that constitutethe joining means are disposed within a cartridge detachably attached toa main body of the RFID label producing device. According to the RFIDlabel producing device of claim 5, since a user of the RFID labelproducing device can exchange each label member held by each holdingportion or can load new label members, the job of exchanging or loadingthe label members becomes easy.

The present invention in claim 6 provides the device of any one ofclaims 3 to 5, wherein the conveying-path forming means forms a space soas not to come into contact with a range where an image can be formed onan image-formed side of the first label base material in an area rangingfrom a position at which an image is formed by the image forming meanson the conveying path of the first label base material to a position atwhich the first and second label base materials are joined together bythe joining means. That is, since the image-formed surface of the firstlabel base material is bared until the first label base material isjoined to the second label base material after an image is formed on thefirst label base material, the conveying-path forming means is formed soas not to come into contact with the range where the image has beenformed. Accordingly, no element is brought into contact with theimage-formed surface until the first label base material is joined tothe second label base material after an image is formed on the firstlabel base material. Therefore, according to the RFID label producingdevice of claim 6, since no element is brought into contact with theimage-formed surface until the first label base material is joined tothe second label base material after an image is formed on the firstlabel base material, the image formed thereon can be kept in anexcellent state.

The present invention in claim 7 provides a cartridge used for a RFIDlabel, the cartridge capable of being detachably attached to a RFIDlabel producing device that has an image forming means for forming animage on a surface of a label base material, the cartridge comprising: afirst holding portion that holds a first label base material which istransparent; a second holding portion that holds a second label basematerial including at least one of a RFID antenna conductor and an ICchip; a joining part that adjusts the first label base material and thesecond label base material in a width direction and joins the first andsecond label base materials together in cooperation with a joiningmechanism provided in the RFID label producing device; and aconveying-path forming means for forming a conveying path to convey thefirst label base material and the second label base material to thejoining part, the image forming means of the RFID label producing devicebeing disposed near the conveying path of the first label base materialso that an image can be formed on a surface of the first label basematerial, the surface being joined to the second label base materialwhen the cartridge is mounted in a main body of the RFID label producingdevice. Since the cartridge is structured in this way, each label basematerial can be easily carried, and an image can be formed on thesurface to be joined to the second label base material of the firstlabel base material when the cartridge is used by being attached to themain body of the RFID label producing device. Therefore, according tothe cartridge of claim 7, as mentioned above, each label base materialcan be easily carried, and an image can be formed on the surface to bejoined to the second label base material of the first label basematerial when the cartridge is used by being attached to the main bodyof the RFID label producing device, and hence it becomes possible torealize at least one of the fact that the IC chip and other elementsincluded in the RFID label are not damaged and the fact that an imageprinted on the RFID label is kept in an excellent state.

The invention in claim 8 provides the cartridge of claim 7, wherein theconveying-path forming means forms a space so as not to come intocontact with a range where an image can be formed on an image-formedside of the first label base material in an area ranging from a positionat which an image is formed by the image forming means on the conveyingpath of the first label base material to the joining part. According tothe cartridge of claim 8, as in the invention of claim 6, no element isbrought into contact with the image-formed surface until the first labelbase material is joined to the second label base material after an imageis formed on the first label base material, and hence the image formedthereon can be kept in an excellent state.

The second object indicated above may be achieved according to theprinciple of the present invention in claim 9, which provides a sheetmember used for a RFID label, the sheet member including an informationdiscriminating portion capable of wirelessly discriminating information,the sheet member being shaped like a sheet, the sheet member comprising:an adhesive layer in contact with the information discriminatingportion; and a sheet-shaped separation member peelably stacked on theadhesive layer, wherein the sheet member being stacked in an adjustedmanner together with other sheet members used for RFID labels. In otherwords, a plurality of sheet members used for RFID labels are stackedtogether so that a separation member of a sheet member and an adhesivelayer of another sheet member contiguous to the separation member in thethickness direction are brought into contact with each other. Since theseparation member is formed peelably from the adhesive layer, theadhesive layer is exposed by separating the separation member therefromwhen the sheet member for RFID labels is used.

The invention in claim 10 provides a sheet member used for a RFID label,the sheet member including an information discriminating portion capableof wirelessly discriminating information, the sheet member being shapedlike a sheet, the sheet member comprising: an adhesive layer in contactwith the information discriminating portion; and a sheet-shapedseparation member peelably stacked on the adhesive layer, wherein thesheet member being wound like a roll. In other words, instead of astructure in which a plurality of sheet members used for RFID labels arestacked together in the same way as in claim 9, a structure in which asheet member used for a RFID label is wound like a roll in the same wayas in claim 10 may be employed. Preferably, in this case, the adhesivelayer is in contact with the separation member of the sheet member nextto the adhesive layer in the thickness direction. The sheet member woundin this way is brought into contact like a roll.

According to the sheet member of claim 9 or claim 10, at least one ofthree disadvantages is prevented. One disadvantage is the troublesomejob of performing a positional adjustment to remove a deviation fromeach other in sheet members for RFID labels stacked together in thethickness direction. Another disadvantage is the abrasion caused byfriction generated when the sheet member slip out of place. Stillanother disadvantage is the damage of the sheet member for RFID labelssuffered by the occurrence of static electricity. When the sheet memberfor RFID labels is stored in, for example, the RFID label producingdevice, the sheet member for RFID labels can be stored even if thestorage part is small. If the storage part has the same size, a sheetmember for RFID labels greater in volume can be stored. Additionally,articles between the sheet member for RFID labels is placed can be stucktogether without applying another adhesive agent onto the sheet memberfor RFID labels or onto the article whenever the sheet member for RFIDlabels is stuck onto the article.

The invention in claim 11 provides the sheet member of claim 10, whereina plurality of the information discriminating portions are disposed onthe adhesive layer. According to the sheet member of claim 11, aplurality of RFID labels can be produced from one sheet member.

The invention in claim 12 or claim 17 provides the sheet member ofclaims 9 or 10 to 11 respectively, wherein the adhesive layer consistsof a first adhesive layer peelably stacked on the separation member anda second adhesive layer placed on a surface of the first adhesive layerwhich is an opposite surface of the first adhesive layer on which theseparation member is placed, and the information discriminating portionis disposed between the first adhesive layer and the second adhesivelayer. According to the sheet member of claim 12 or 17, since theinformation discriminating portion is disposed between the firstadhesive layer and the second adhesive layer, each adhesive layer canprotect the information discriminating portion, for example, from beingdamaged.

The invention in claim.13 or claim 18 provides the sheet member for RFIDlevels of claim 12 or claim 17 respectively, further comprising a basematerial harder than each of the first and second adhesive layers, thebase material being disposed between the first and second adhesivelayers. According to the sheet member for RFID labels of claim 13 or 17,the sheet member for RFID labels can become so strong that its shape isnot easily changed even when a compression force or the like is exertedon the sheet member for RFID labels.

The invention in claim 14 or claim 19 provides the sheet member of claim13 or claim 18 respectively, wherein the base material is opaque, andthe information discriminating portion is disposed between the basematerial and the first adhesive layer. According to the sheet member forRFID labels of claim 14 or 18, the opaque base material can conceal theinformation discriminating portion from the second adhesive layer.

The invention in claim 15 or claim 20 provides the sheet member of anyone of claims 12 to 14 or claims 17 to 19 respectively, wherein:thefirst adhesive layer serves to fix the sheet member used for a RFIDlabel to an article, whereas the second adhesive layer serves to jointhe sheet member used for a RFID label and a sheet-shaped membersubstantially equal in width to the sheet member used for a RFID labeltogether while adjusting the sheet member and the sheet-shaped member ina width direction, and only the separation member is separated from thesheet member used for a RFID label when the sheet member used for a RFIDlabel is fixed to the article. Thus, the first adhesive layer is used tofix the sheet member for RFID labels to an article. The second adhesivelayer is used to join the sheet member for RFID labels and asheet-shaped member substantially equal in width to the sheet membertogether while adjusting the sheet member for RFID labels and thesheet-shaped member in a width direction. Only these paration member isseparated from the sheet member for RFID labels when the sheet memberfor RFID labels is fixed to the article. The phrase “substantiallyequal” recited in claim 15 and 20 denotes both a case in which the widthof the sheet member-for RFID labels is exactly equal to that of thesheet-shaped member and a case in which the width of the sheet memberfor RFID labels is almost equal to that of the sheet-shaped member.According to the sheet member for RFID labels of claim 15 or 20, thesheet member can be reliably fixed to other articles.

The invention in claim 16 or 21 provides the sheet member of any one ofclaims 9 to 15 or claims 10, 17 to 20 respectively, wherein the sheetmember used for a RFID label is contained in any one of an image formingdevice for forming an identification image on the sheet member, anidentification data writing device for writing identification data ontothe information discriminating portion, a cartridge attachable to atleast one of the image forming device and the identification datawriting device, and a wrapper for enclosing the sheet member. Accordingto the sheet member for RFID labels of claim 16, in the image formingdevice, in the identification data writing device, in the cartridgeattachable to these devices, or in the wrapper for the sheet member forRFID labels, a containing part or a containing space used to contain thesheet member for RFID labels can be made smaller. Even if the containingpart is the same in size, a sheet member for RFID labels greater involume can be contained therein.

The third object indicated above may be achieved according to theprinciple of the present invention in claim 22, which provides a sheetmember used for a RFID label, wherein a plurality of informationdiscriminating portions that can discriminate information by radio aredisposed in the sheet member in a longitudinal direction of the sheetmember, and adjoining information discriminating portions of theplurality of information discriminating portions are deviated from eachother in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of thesheet member. According to the invention of claim 22, when sheet membersare wound or stacked together, information discriminating portionsdisposed in the sheet member are rarely overlapped with each other inthe radial direction of the rolled-up sheet member or in the stackdirection, and the quantity or size of a projection of the informationdiscriminating portion protruding from the sheet member is smaller thana case in which the information discriminating portions are not deviatedfrom each other. Therefore, the thickness of the sheet member in theradial direction of the roll-up sheet member or in the stack directioncan be made smaller than a case in which the information discriminatingportions are not deviated from each other, and hence the whole of thesheet member can be reduced in size.

The invention in claim 23 provides a sheet member used for a RFID label,the sheet member being formed by arranging a plurality of informationdiscriminating portions, each of which can discriminate information byradio and is long, in a band-shaped sheet member in a longitudinaldirection of the band-shaped sheet member and by winding the band-shapedsheet member like a roll, wherein the plurality of informationdiscriminating portions are arranged to be nonparallel to an axisextending in the longitudinal direction of the sheet member. Accordingto the invention of claim 23, when the band-shaped sheet member is woundlike a roll, adjoining information discriminating portions are rarelyoverlapped with each other in the radial direction of the rolled-upsheet member, and a projection protruding from the band-shaped sheetmember can be restricted to a smaller amount than a structure in whichthe plurality of information discriminating portions are disposed inparallel with the axis extending in the longitudinal direction of thesheet member. Therefore, a space-saving can be achieved.

The invention in claim 24 provides the sheet member of claim 22, whereinadjoining information discriminating portions of the plurality ofinformation discriminating portions are disposed axisymmetrically withrespect to a center axis between the adjoining informationdiscriminating portions. According to the invention of claim 24,adjoining information discriminating portions are more rarely overlappedwith each other, and a larger space-saving can be achieved.

The invention in claim 25 provides a sheet member used for a RFID label,wherein a plurality of information discriminating portions each of whichconsists of a RFID element and a RFID antenna conductor are arranged ina band-shaped sheet member in a longitudinal direction of theband-shaped sheet member, the plurality of information discriminatingportions being deviated from each other in a direction perpendicular tothe longitudinal direction of the sheet member. According to theinvention of claim 25, RFID elements having a greater thickness amongthe RFID elements are disposed to be deviated from each other.Therefore, when the band-shaped sheet member is wound or the sheetmembers are stacked together, the information discriminating portionsdisposed in the band-shaped sheet member are never overlapped with eachother in the radial direction of the rolled-up sheet member or in thestack direction. Therefore, compared to a structure in which theinformation discriminating portions are not deviated from each other,since the quantity or size of a projection of the informationdiscriminating portion protruding from the sheet member is smaller, thethickness of the sheet member in the radial direction of the rolled-upsheet member or in the stack direction can be made smaller, and hencethe whole of the sheet member can be reduced in size.

The invention in claim 26 provides a sheet member used for a RFID labelin which a plurality of holding sheet members each of which holds aninformation discriminating portion capable of discriminating informationby radio are stacked together, wherein the plurality of holding sheetmembers are stacked together so that positions of the informationdiscriminating portions of the holding sheet members facing each otherdiffer from each other in a plane perpendicular to a direction in whichthe plurality of holding sheet members are stacked together. Accordingto the invention of claim 26, the information discriminating portionsdisposed in the stacked holding sheet members are never overlapped witheach other in the stack direction, and the thickness of the whole of thestacked holding sheet members becomes smaller than a structure in whichthe positions of the information discriminating portions coincide witheach other in a plane perpendicular to the stack direction. Therefore, aspace-saving can be achieved.

The invention in claim 27 to 30 provides the sheet member of claims 22,23, 25, 26 respectively wherein the sheet member used for a RFID labelis contained in any one of an image forming device for forming anidentification image on the sheet member, an identification data writingdevice for writing identification data onto the informationdiscriminating portion, a cartridge attachable to at least one of theimage forming device and the identification data writing device, and awrapper for enclosing the sheet member. According to the invention ofclaim 27, since the sheet member for RFID labels of any one of claims 22to 26 is contained as a material of the RFID label, the informationdiscriminating portion never protrudes from the band-shaped sheetmember, and the thickness of the whole of the band-shaped sheet membercan be reduced, thus creating spatial effectiveness.

The fourth object indicated above may be achieved according to theprinciple of the present invention in claim 31, which provides a devicefor producing a RFID label, the device comprising:an image forming meansfor forming an image on an image-formed object; and a conveying meansfor joining a sheet member having an information discriminating portioncapable of discriminating information by radio and the image-formedobject on which an image has been formed by the image forming meanstogether while conveying the sheet member, wherein a pressure absorbingmeans for absorbing a pressing force exerted on the informationdiscriminating portion of the sheet member is formed on a contactsurface of the conveying means with which the sheet member is broughtinto contact. According to the invention of claim 31, the pressureabsorbing means for absorbing a pressing force exerted on theinformation discriminating portion of the sheet member is formed on acontact surface of the conveying means with which the sheet member isbrought into contact, and an excessive pressing force is never exertedon the information discriminating portion. Therefore, a circuit in theinformation discriminating portion is not short-circuited, and there isno fear that a change in quality of the information discriminatingportion caused by pressure against the information discriminatingportion will bring about the loss or crash of identification data storedin the information discriminating portion, and that the informationdiscriminating portion will be destroyed.

The invention in claim 32 provides the device of claim 31, wherein theconveying means comprises a pair of rollers, and the pressure absorbingmeans is a plurality of concave parts formed in a roller surface of atleast one of the pair of rollers over an entire periphery of the roller.According to the invention of claim 32, since the plurality of concaveparts by which a pressing force against the information discriminatingportion of the sheet member is absorbed are formed in a roller surfaceof at least one of the pair of rollers, the information discriminatingportion never comes into contact with the roller surface, and anexcessive pressing force is not exerted on the informationdiscriminating portion. Therefore, advantageously, a circuit in theinformation discriminating portion is not short-circuited, and there isno fear that a change in quality of the information discriminatingportion caused by pressure against the information discriminatingportion will bring about the loss or crash of identification data storedin the information discriminating portion, and that the informationdiscriminating portion will be destroyed.

The invention in claim 33 provides the device of claim 31, wherein theconveying means comprises a pair of rollers, and the pressure absorbingmeans is an elastic body disposed on a roller surface of at least one ofthe pair of rollers, the elastic body being elastically deformable inaccordance with the shape of a swell of a sheet surface of the sheetmember. According to the invention of claim 33, since the elastic bodyelastically deformable in accordance with the shape of a swell of thesheet surface of the sheet member is formed on the roller surface of atleast one of the pair of rollers, a pressing force is absorbed by theelastic body that is deformed by being pressed by the informationdiscriminating portion, and an excessive pressing force is never exertedon the information discriminating portion. Therefore, advantageously, acircuit in the information discriminating portion is notshort-circuited, and there is no fear that a change in quality of theinformation discriminating portion caused by pressure against theinformation discriminating portion will bring about the loss or crash ofidentification data stored in the information discriminating portion,and that the information discriminating portion will be destroyed.

The invention in claim 34 or claim 35 provides the device of claim 32 orclaim 33 respectively, wherein the pair of rollers are disposed at adischarge portion from which the band-shaped sheet member is dischargedoutwardly. According to the invention of claim 34 or claim 35, since theRFID label has its maximum thickness when the RFID label is finallyproduced and when the pair of rollers discharge the RFID labeloutwardly, the pair of rollers are disposed at the discharge portionfrom which the RFID label is discharged outwardly. Therefore, with evengreater effect, identification data can be prevented from being lost bya change in quality of the information discriminating portion includedin the RFID label having a maximum thickness, and the informationdiscriminating portion can be prevented from being destroyed.

The invention in claim 36 or 37 provides the device of any one of claims31 to 34, wherein the image forming means is a thermal head that formsan image on the image-formed object with heat or an ink jet head thatforms an image on the image-formed object by discharging ink. Accordingto the invention of claim 36 or claim 37, the RFID label producingdevice that uses either a thermal head or an ink jet head as the imageforming means never has a printing problem caused by a swell orprojection of the information discriminating portion, and canexcellently perform printing.

The invention in claim 38 provides a device for producing a RFID labelcomprising:

an image forming means having a thermal head or an ink jet head forforming an image on an image-formed object having an informationdiscriminating portion capable of discriminating information by radio;and

a platen facing the image forming means and coming into contact with theimage-formed object in order to allow the image-formed object to movealong the thermal head or the ink jet head, wherein the platen isprovided with at least one of an elastic body and a concave part used toabsorb a pressing force between the information discriminating portionand the thermal head or the ink jet head by being elastically deformedby the information discriminating portion of the image-formed object orused to reduce the approach of the image-formed object and the thermalhead or the inkjet head to each other caused by the informationdiscriminating portion. According to the invention of claim 38, when animage is formed directly onto an image-formed object having theinformation discriminating portion, the platen is provided with at leastone of an elastic body and a concave part used to absorb a pressingforce between the information discriminating portion and the thermalhead or the ink jet head or used to reduce the approach of theimage-formed object and the thermal head or the ink jet head to eachother caused by the information discriminating portion. Therefore, anexcessive pressing force is never exerted on the informationdiscriminating portion of the image-formed object that has theinformation discriminating portion, and an excessive approach does notarise between the image-formed object and the thermal head or the inkjet head. Therefore, in the RFID label producing device that uses eitherthe thermal head or the ink jet head as the image forming means thatdoes not have a fear that a circuit in the information discriminatingportion will be short-circuited or a fear that a change in quality ofthe information discriminating portion caused by pressure against theinformation discriminating portion will bring about the loss or crash ofidentification data stored in the information discriminating portion orfear that the information discriminating portion will be destroyed, aprinting problem resulting from a swell or projection of the informationdiscriminating portion never occurs, and an image can be excellentlyformed. Additionally, an image is formed on the image-formed object byeither the thermal head or the ink jet head serving as the image formingmeans.

The invention in claim 39 provides a cartridge comprising: a holdingportion that holds a sheet member having an information discriminatingportion capable of discriminating information by radio and theimage-formed object in a state in which each of the sheet member and theimage-formed object is wound like a roll respectively; a conveying pathto convey the sheet member and the image-formed object along mutuallydifferent paths from the holding portion to a stack position at whichthe sheet member and the image-formed object are stacked together; aninsertion hole formed in the conveying path of the image-formed object,the insertion hole used to insert the image forming means provided onthe side of the RFID label producing device; and a roller disposed atthe stack position on the side of an end of the conveying path, theroller stacking the sheet member and the image-formed object togetherwhile conveying the sheet member and the image-formed object incooperation with a roller provided in the RFID label producing device,wherein formed is a pressure absorbing means for absorbing a pressingforce exerted on the information discriminating portion of the sheetmember on a roller surface of the roller. According to the invention ofclaim 39, when a RFID label is produced by detachably attaching thecartridge for RFID labels having the pressure absorbing means forabsorbing a pressing force exerted on the information discriminatingportion of the sheet member formed on the roller surface of the rollerto the RFID label producing device, an excessive pressing force is neverexerted on the information discriminating portion because the pressureabsorbing means for absorbing a pressing force exerted on theinformation discriminating portion of the sheet member is formed on thecontact surface of the conveying means with which the sheet member isbrought into contact. Therefore, advantageously, a circuit in theinformation discriminating portion is not short-circuited, and there isno fear that a change in quality of the information discriminatingportion caused by pressure against the information discriminatingportion will bring about the loss or crash of identification data storedin the information discriminating portion, and that the informationdiscriminating portion will be destroyed.

The invention in claim 40 provides the cartridge of claim 39, whereinthe pressure absorbing means comprises a plurality of concave partsformed in the roller over an entire periphery of the roller surface ofthe roller. As in the invention of claim 39, according to the inventionof claim 40, since the plurality of concave parts by which a pressingforce exerted on the information discriminating portion of the sheetmember is absorbed are formed in the roller surface of at least one ofthe pair of rollers, the information discriminating portion never comesinto contact with the roller surface, and an excessive pressing force isnever exerted on the information discriminating portion. Therefore,advantageously, a circuit in the information discriminating portion isnot short-circuited, and there is no possibility that a change inquality of the information discriminating portion caused by pressureagainst the information discriminating portion will bring about the lossor crash of identification data stored in the information discriminatingportion, and that the information discriminating portion will bedestroyed.

The invention in claim 41 provides the cartridge of claim 39, whereinthe pressure absorbing means comprises an elastic body that iselastically deformed in accordance with the shape of a swell of a sheetsurface of the sheet member. As in the invention of claim 39, accordingto the invention of claim 41, since the elastic body that is elasticallydeformable in accordance with the shape of a swell or projection of thesheet surface of the sheet member is used as the pressure absorbingmeans, an pressing force is absorbed by allowing the informationdiscriminating portion to press the elastic body, and an excessivepressing force is never exerted on the information discriminatingportion. Therefore, advantageously, a circuit in the informationdiscriminating portion is not short-circuited, and there is nopossibility that a change in quality of the information discriminatingportion caused by pressure against the information discriminatingportion will bring about the loss or crash of identification data storedin the information discriminating portion, and that the informationdiscriminating portion will be destroyed.

The fifth object indicated above may be achieved according to theprinciple of the present invention in claim 42, which provides a RFIDlabel comprising: a to-be-printed tape layer on which predeterminedprint characters are printed; a tag tape base layer used to dispose aRFID circuit element; a gluing adhesive layer used to glue the tag tapebase layer onto the to-be-printed tape layer; a fixing adhesive layerused to fix the RFID circuit element to the tag tape base layer; anaffixing adhesive layer provided to affix the RFID circuit element ontoa specified object; and a separation material layer with which theaffixing adhesive layer is covered, the separation material layerdisposed peelably from the affixing adhesive layer. In the invention ofclaim 42, the fixing adhesive layer to fix the RFID circuit element tothe tag tape base layer is newly provided in addition to the gluingadhesive layer by which the to-be-printed tape layer and the tag tapebase layer are glued together and the affixing adhesive layer with whichthe separation material layer is covered (in other words, at least threeadhesive layers are provided). As a result, the adhesive force of thegluing adhesive layer or that of the affixing adhesive layer is neverimpaired. Additionally, since the entire thickness of the gluingadhesive layer or that of the affixing adhesive layer performs a shockabsorbing function when pressure is applied thereonto, the RFID circuitelement can be prevented from being damaged. Additionally, since thefixing adhesive layer is disposed closer to the separation materiallayer than the tag tape base layer, the RFID circuit element cannot beseen from the side of the label surface by the tag tape base layerserving as a blindfold, and hence the RFID circuit element can avoidbaring its external appearance.

The invention in claim 43 provides the RFID label of claim 42, furthercomprising an intermediate tag tape base layer provided between the tagtape base layer and the separation material layer. Therefore, it ispossible to realize a RFID label having a layered structure includingthe intermediate tag tape base layer placed between the tag tape baselayer and the separation material layer.

The object indicated above may be achieved according to the principle ofthe present invention in claim 44, which provides a tag tape comprising:a to-be-printed tape layer on which predetermined print characters areprinted; a tag tape base layer provided to dispose a plurality of RFIDcircuit elements in a longitudinal direction with predeterminedintervals; a gluing adhesive layer provided to glue the tag tape baselayer onto the to-be-printed tape layer; a fixing adhesive layerprovided to fix the RFID circuit element to the tag tape base layer; anaffixing adhesive layer provided to affix the RFID circuit element ontoa specified object; and a separation material layer with which theaffixing adhesive layer is covered, the separation material layerdisposed peelably from the affixing adhesive layer. In the invention ofclaim 44, the fixing adhesive layer to fix the RFID circuit element tothe tag tape base layer is newly provided in addition to the gluingadhesive layer by which the to-be-printed tape layer and the tag tapebase layer are glued together and the affixing adhesive layer with whichthe separation material layer is covered (in other words, at least threeadhesive layers are provided). As a result, the adhesive force of thegluing adhesive layer or that of the affixing adhesive layer is neverimpaired. Additionally, since the entire thickness of the gluingadhesive layer or that of the affixing adhesive layer performs a shockabsorbing function when pressure is applied thereonto, the RFID circuitelement can be prevented from being damaged. Additionally, since thefixing adhesive layer is disposed closer to the separation materiallayer than the tag tape base layer, the RFID circuit element cannot beseen from the side of the label surface by the tag tape base layerserving as a blindfold after the label is produced, and hence the RFIDcircuit element can avoid baring its external appearance.

The invention in claim 45 provides the tag tape of claim 44, furthercomprising an intermediate tag tape base layer provided between the tagtape base layer and the separation material layer. Therefore, it ispossible to realize a tag tape having a layered structure including theintermediate tag tape base layer placed between the tag tape base layerand the separation material layer.

The object indicated above may be achieved according to the principle ofthe present invention in claim 46, which provides A tag tape roll formedby winding a tag tape around an axis substantially perpendicular to alongitudinal direction of the tape, the tag tape comprising: ato-be-printed tape layer on which predetermined print characters areprinted; a tag tape base layer provided to dispose a plurality of RFIDcircuit elements in a longitudinal direction with predeterminedintervals; a gluing adhesive layer provided to glue the tag tape baselayer onto the to-be-printed tape layer; a fixing adhesive layerprovided to fix the RFID circuit element to the tag tape base layer; anaffixing adhesive layer provided to affix the RFID circuit element ontoa specified object; and a separation material layer with which theaffixing adhesive layer is covered, the separation material layerdisposed peelably from the affixing adhesive layer. According to theinvention of claim 46, in the tag tape, the fixing adhesive layer to fixthe RFID circuit element to the tag tape base layer is newly provided inaddition to the gluing adhesive layer by which the to-be-printed tapelayer and the tag tape base layer are glued together and the affixingadhesive layer with which the separation material layer is covered (inother words, at least three adhesive layers are provided). As a result,the adhesive force of the gluing adhesive layer or that of the affixingadhesive layer is never impaired. Additionally, since the entirethickness of the gluing adhesive layer or that of the affixing adhesivelayer performs a shock absorbing function when pressure is appliedthereonto, the RFID circuit element can be prevented from being damaged.Additionally, since the fixing adhesive layer is disposed closer to theseparation material layer than the tag tape base layer, the RFID circuitelement cannot be seen from the side of the surface thereof by the tagtape base layer serving as a blindfold, and hence the RFID circuitelement can avoid baring its external appearance.

The invention in claim 47 provides the tag tape roll of claim 46,wherein the gluing adhesive layer, the fixing adhesive layer, and theaffixing adhesive layer are formed by being properly selected so as tohave desired adhesive characteristics. For example, the gluing adhesivelayer selectively uses a proper adhesive agent having adhesivecharacteristics suitable for this adhesive layer in consideration ofadhesive properties with respect to the to-be-printed tape layer and thetag tape base layer. The fixing adhesive layer selectively uses a properadhesive agent having adhesive characteristics suitable for thisadhesive layer in consideration of adhesive properties with respect tothe tag tape base layer, the RFID circuit element, and the affixingadhesive layer. The affixing adhesive layer selectively uses a properadhesive agent having adhesive characteristics suitable for thisadhesive layer in consideration of adhesive properties with respect tothe RFID circuit element, the fixing adhesive layer, and an object(label-stuck body) onto which a label is affixed. As a result, thequality as the tag tape can be improved.

The invention in claim 48 provides the tag tape roll of claim 46 orclaim 47, wherein at least two of the gluing adhesive layer, the fixingadhesive layer, and the affixing adhesive layer are formed to differfrom each other in adhesive characteristics. Therefore, it becomespossible to individually use a proper adhesive agent having adhesivecharacteristics suitable for the adhesive layer, and the quality as thetag tape can be improved.

The invention in claim 49 provides the tag tape roll of claim 46 orclaim 47, wherein the gluing adhesive layer, the fixing adhesive layer,and the affixing adhesive layer are formed to have substantially thesame adhesive force. Therefore, it becomes possible to realize alow-cost, general-purpose tag tape in which all adhesive layers havesubstantially the same structure and substantially the same adhesiveproperties.

The invention in claim 50 provides the tag tape roll of claim 46,wherein the tag tape roll has an intermediate tag tape base layerprovided between the tag tape base layer and the separation materiallayer. Therefore, it is possible to realize a tag tape having a layeredstructure including the intermediate tag tape base layer placed betweenthe tag tape base layer and the separation material layer.

The invention in claim 51 provides the tag tape roll of claim 50,wherein the tag tape roll has an intermediate adhesive layer placedbetween the fixing adhesive layer and the intermediate tag tape baselayer. Therefore, it is possible to realize a tag tape having a layeredstructure including the intermediate tag tape base layer placed betweenthe tag tape base layer and the separation material layer and includingthe intermediate adhesive layer placed between the intermediate tag tapebase layer and the fixing adhesive layer.

The invention in claim 52 provides the tag tape roll of claim 51,wherein the gluing adhesive layer, the fixing adhesive layer, theintermediate adhesive layer, and the affixing adhesive layer are formedby being properly selected so as to have desired adhesivecharacteristics. For example, the gluing adhesive layer selectively usesa proper adhesive agent having adhesive characteristics suitable forthis adhesive layer in consideration of adhesive properties with respectto the to-be-printed tape layer and the tag tape base layer. The fixingadhesive layer selectively uses a proper adhesive agent having adhesivecharacteristics suitable for this adhesive layer in consideration ofadhesive properties with respect to the tag tape base layer, the RFIDcircuit element, and the intermediate adhesive layer. The intermediateadhesive layer selectively uses a proper adhesive agent having adhesivecharacteristics suitable for this adhesive layer in consideration ofadhesive properties with respect to the RFID circuit element, the fixingadhesive layer, and the intermediate tag tape base layer. The affixingadhesive layer selectively uses a proper adhesive agent having adhesivecharacteristics suitable for this adhesive layer in consideration ofadhesive properties with respect to the intermediate tag tape base layerand an object onto which a label is affixed. As a result, the quality asthe tag tape can be improved.

The invention in claim 53 provides the tag tape roll of claim 51 orclaim 52, wherein at least two of the gluing adhesive layer, the fixingadhesive layer, the intermediate adhesive layer, and the affixingadhesive layer are formed to differ from each other in adhesivecharacteristics. Therefore, it becomes possible to individually use aproper adhesive agent having adhesive characteristics suitable for theadhesive layer, and the quality as the tag tape can be improved.

The invention in claim 54 provides the tag tape roll of claim 46or claim51, wherein the gluing adhesive layer, the fixing adhesive layer, theintermediate adhesive layer, and the affixing adhesive layer are formedto have substantially the same adhesive force. Therefore, it becomespossible to realize a low-cost, general-purpose tag tape in which alladhesive layers have substantially the same structure and substantiallythe same adhesive properties.

The invention in claim 55 or claim 57 provides the tag tape roll ofclaim 47 or claim 52 respectively, wherein the affixing adhesive layeris formed to become weaker in adhesive force than the other adhesivelayers. As a result, it is possible to produce a reusable label capableof being re-peeled off without being broken after having once beenstuck.

The invention in claim 56 or claim 58 provides the tag tape roll ofclaim 47 or claim 52 respectively, wherein the affixing adhesive layeris formed to become stronger in adhesive force than the other adhesivelayers. As a result, it is possible to produce an affixing label that isnot easily peeled off after having once been stuck, i.e., produce anaffixing label that has the property of being broken when peeled off.

The invention in claim 59 provides the tag tape roll of claim 47,wherein the gluing adhesive layer or the fixing adhesive layer is formedto become weaker in cohesive force than the other adhesive layers. As aresult, when a produced label receives a force in a direction in whichthe label is peeled off, the gluing adhesive layer or the fixingadhesive layer spontaneously separates and breaks into pieces, and hencethe remaining parts other than these, in particular, the RFID circuitelement, can be prevented from being destroyed. That is, it becomespossible to realize a security tape capable of storing internalinformation.

The invention in claim 60 provides the tag tape roll of claim 52,wherein the gluing adhesive layer or the fixing adhesive layer or theintermediate adhesive layer is formed to become stronger in adhesiveforce than the other adhesive layers. As a result, when a produced labelreceives a force in a direction in which the label is peeled off, thegluing adhesive layer or the fixing adhesive layer or the intermediateadhesive layer spontaneously separates and breaks into pieces, and hencethe remaining parts other than these, in particular, the RFID circuitelement, can be prevented from being destroyed. That is, it becomespossible to realize a security tape capable of storing internalinformation.

The invention in claim 61 provides the tag tape roll of any one ofclaims 46 to 60, wherein at least one of the gluing adhesive layer andthe fixing adhesive layer is formed by an adhesive agent colored indesired color. If the to-be-printed tape layer is opticallytransmissible, the color of the adhesive agent is visually shown as thecolor of the tag tape and as the color of the label without beingchanged. Therefore, a tag tape and a label having a more colorful colorcan be produced by coloring the gluing adhesive layer, and the RFIDcircuit element disposed on the reverse side can be reliably blindedfrom view. The fixing adhesive layer may be colored.

The invention in claim 62 provides the tag tape roll of any one ofclaims 46 to 61, wherein a thickness of the affixing adhesive layer isset at λ/50 or more where λ is a wavelength of a communication frequencyof the RFID circuit element. An adverse influence to be exerted on aradio-wave sending and receiving function of the RFID circuit elementcan be reduced or prevented by setting the thickness of the affixingadhesive layer at λ/50 or more, which is relatively thick, where λ is awavelength of a communication frequency even when the produced RFIDlabel is affixed to a metallic object.

The invention in claim 63 provides the tag tape roll of any one ofclaims 46 to 62, wherein an attracting magnetic layer is providedinstead of the separation material layer, and an attaching adhesivelayer to attach the magnetic layer to the fixing adhesive layer isprovided instead of the affixing adhesive layer, the attaching adhesivelayer being placed between the magnetic layer and the fixing adhesivelayer. As a result, a produced RFID label can be attached to a specifiedobject with the magnetic layer therebetween.

The invention in claim 64 provides the tag tape roll of any one ofclaims 46 to 62, wherein a detachable element is provided instead of theseparation material layer, and an attaching adhesive layer to attach thedetachable element to the fixing adhesive layer is provided instead ofthe affixing adhesive layer, the attaching adhesive layer being placedbetween the detachable element and the fixing adhesive layer. As aresult, a produced RFID label can be attached to a specified object withthe detachable element therebetween, and can be detached therefrom.

The invention in claim 65 provides the tag tape roll of any one ofclaims 50 to 53, wherein the affixing adhesive layer and the separationmaterial layer are omitted, and the intermediate tag tape base layer isplaced as an outermost layer. Therefore, it is possible to produce acard-type RFID tag without the premise that the tag is stuck.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an overall view of a device for producing a RFID label.

FIG. 2 depicts a cartridge and a thermal printing mechanism part byopening a cover case of the RFID label producing device of FIG. 1, inwhich an upper surface wall of the cartridge is cut to show the insideof the cartridge.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electric connection of the RFIDlabel producing device of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 4A to 4C are sectional side views, each showing a RFID label and aband-shaped sheet member serving as a base material of the label, FIG.4A showing a state in which a laminate film has not yet been bonded,FIG. 4B showing a state in which the laminate film is about to bebonded, FIG. 4C showing a state in which the laminate film has beenbonded.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are sectional side views showing a cross section in alongitudinal direction of the band-shaped sheet member of FIGS. 4A to 4Cand explaining the cross section of the band-shaped sheet member woundand stacked like a roll.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state in which one end of theband-shaped sheet member wound like a roll has been drawn out.

FIGS. 7A to 7B are sectional side views showing a RFID label and a sheetmember of another embodiment, FIG. 7A showing an example of the RFIDlabel using a laminate film that has a thermosensitive layer, FIG. 7Bshowing an example of the sheet member in which an IC chip and anantenna conductor are disposed inversely in upward and downwarddirections.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are sectional views, each showing a band-shaped sheetmember of another embodiment in which an IC chip and an antennaconductor are provided between a base-material tape and a secondadhesive layer, FIG. 8A showing an example in which the IC chip isdisposed on the side of the second adhesive layer, and the antennaconductor is disposed on the side of the base-material tape, FIG. 8Bshowing an example in which the antenna conductor is disposed on theside of the second adhesive layer, and the IC chip is disposed on theside of the base-material tape.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are sectional views, each showing a sheet member inwhich a base-material tape is not provided between a first adhesivelayer and a second adhesive layer, FIG. 9A showing an example in whichthe IC chip is disposed on the side of the second adhesive layer, andthe antenna conductor is disposed on the side of the first adhesivelayer, FIG. 9B showing an example in which the antenna conductor isdisposed on the side of the second adhesive layer, and the IC chip isdisposed on the side of the first adhesive layer.

FIGS. 10A, 10B, 10C, and 10D are sectional views, each showing a sheetmember that includes an adhesive layer and a separation member, FIG. 10Ashowing an example in which the IC chip is disposed on the side of theadhesive layer, and the antenna conductor is disposed on the side of theseparation member, FIG. 10B showing an example in which the antennaconductor is disposed on the side of the adhesive layer, and the IC chipis disposed on the side of the separation member, FIG. 10C showing anexample in which the IC chip and the antenna conductor are stuck onto asurface of the adhesive layer opposite the separation member so that theantenna conductor faces the separation member, FIG. 10D showing anexample in which the IC chip is stuck onto a surface opposite theseparation member which the adhesive layer and separation member faceeach other.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing rectangular or square RFID labelsor sheet members that are stacked one by one and are contained in a box.

FIGS. 12A, 12B, 12C, and 12D show a band-shaped sheet member of anotherembodiment being extended by drawing an end of the sheet member, FIG.12A being a perspective view showing an arrangement pattern of aninformation discriminating portion, FIGS. 12B to 12D being schematicplan views, each showing an example of another arrangement pattern.

FIG. 13 is a sectional view of the band-shaped sheet member of FIG. 12Awound like a roll in a radial direction R of the roll.

FIG. 14 is a view for explaining a band-shaped sheet member of anotherembodiment, corresponding to FIG. 12A.

FIG. 15 is a view for explaining a band-shaped sheet member of anotherembodiment, corresponding to FIG. 12A.

FIG. 16 is a view for explaining a band-shaped sheet member of anotherembodiment, corresponding to FIG. 12A.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing a state in which rectangularholding sheet members of another embodiment are stacked up.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing a state in which circular holdingsheet members of another embodiment are stacked up.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view for explaining a conventional band-shapedsheet member.

FIG. 20 is a view for explaining a band-shaped sheet member of anotherembodiment, corresponding to FIG. 12A.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view showing a carrier roller used to conveythe band-shaped sheet member of FIG. 20.

FIG. 22 is a perspective view showing a carrier roller of anotherembodiment, corresponding to FIG. 21.

FIG. 23 is a perspective view showing a band-shaped sheet member that isconveyed by the carrier roller of FIG. 22.

FIG. 24 is a system configuration view showing a RFID-tag manufacturingsystem to which a tag-label producing device for producing a RFID labelaccording to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 25 is a conceptual schematic view showing a detailed structure ofthe tag-label producing device of FIG. 24.

FIG. 26 is an explanatory drawing for explaining a detailed structure ofa cartridge shown in FIG. 25.

FIG. 27 is a functional block diagram showing a detailed function of ahigh frequency circuit shown in FIG. 25.

FIG. 28 is a functional block diagram showing a functional structure ofa RFID circuit element.

FIG. 29 shows an example of a screen displayed on a terminal or generalpurpose computer when RFID tag information is accessed.

FIGS. 30A and 30B are a top view and a bottom view, respectively,showing an example of an appearance of the RFID label of thisembodiment.

FIG. 31 is a cross-sectional view along line VIII-VIII′ of FIG. 30A.

FIG. 32 is a cross-sectional view showing a modification in which thelabel is fastened to a specified object by a means other than anadhesive.

FIG. 33 is a cross-sectional view showing a modification in which anintermediate tape layer is provided.

FIG. 34 is a cross-sectional view showing a modification in which anintermediate tape layer is provided and in which the label is fastenedto a specified object by a means other than an adhesive.

FIG. 35 is a cross-sectional view showing a modification in which only afixing adhesive layer is used without using an intermediate adhesivelayer, and a RFID circuit element is disposed in the fixing adhesivelayer.

FIG. 36 is a cross-sectional view showing a modification in which onlythe intermediate adhesive layer is used without using the fixingadhesive layer, and the RFID circuit element is disposed in theintermediate adhesive layer.

FIG. 37 is a cross-sectional view showing a modification in which theseparation sheet of paper and the affixing adhesive layer shown in FIG.33 are eliminated, and the intermediate base film is disposed as anoutermost layer.

FIG. 38 shows an example of an influence exerted onto a communicationstate between the RFID circuit element To and the antenna provided onthe device side when a metal is placed near the RFID circuit element.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

A RFID label producing device 1 and other components according to anembodiment of the present invention will be hereinafter described indetail with reference to the attached drawings.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the whole of a RFID label producingdevice 1 for producing a RFID label 70 called a RFID tag, for example.

In FIG. 1, a keyboard 3 is disposed at the front part of the RFID labelproducing device 1. A thermal printing mechanism PM (see FIG. 2)corresponding to an image forming means of the present invention isdisposed inside the RFID label producing device 1 and behind thekeyboard 3. A cover case 2 that can be opened and closed to exchange acartridge 10 shown in FIG. 2 is disposed behind the keyboard 3. Thecover case 2 has a display 4, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), onwhich characters or symbols input by the keyboard 3 are displayed. Anoperating knob 5 that is operated to open the cover case 2 is disposedbetween the cover case 2 and the keyboard 3.

The keyboard 3 has character keys used to input alphabetical letters,numerals, and marks, space keys, end-of-line keys, cursor moving keysused to move a cursor from right to left or up and down, typical-labelproducing keys used to easily produce a label that is produced withgreat frequency, editing keys, such as execution keys and cancel keys,print keys used to command printing, power keys used to turn a powersource on or off, etc.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the cartridge 10 and the thermal printingmechanism PM that appear by opening the cover case 2. The inside of thecartridge 10 is shown by removing its upper surface wall.

In FIG. 2, the cartridge 10 shaped like a rectangular box is detachablyattached to the RFID label producing device 1. The cartridge 10includes, for example, a tape spool 12 on which a laminate tape 11,which is a transparent resin film or a translucent colored resin filmmade of PET (polyethylene terephthalate), is wound like a roll, a ribbonspool 14 on which an ink ribbon 13 is wound, a ribbon take-up spool 15that takes up the ink ribbon 13, a feed spool 17 on which a band-shapedsheet member 16, which is substantially the same in width as thelaminate tape 11 and which has an antenna conductor 63, an IC chip 64, aresonance circuit, etc., is wound like a roll, and a tape feed roller 18and a sub-roller 21 that are used as a pair and that press or nip thelaminate tape 11 and the band-shaped sheet member 16 between the tapefeed roller 18 and the sub-roller 21 so as to cause them to adhere toeach other. The tape spool 12, the ribbon spool 14, the ribbon take-upspool 15, the feed spool 17, the tape feed roller 18, and the sub-roller21 are rotatably provided.

In this embodiment, the laminate tape 11 functions as a first label basematerial, the band-shaped sheet member 16 functions as a second labelbase material, the tape spool 12 functions as a first holding portion,the feed spool 17 functions as a second holding portion, and the tapefeed roller 18 and the sub-roller 21, which are used as a pair, functionas a conveying means or an adhering means.

The cartridge 10 is provided with a guide roller 28A and guide walls 28Band 28C that correspond to a conveying-path forming means for forming aconveying path used to convey a tape from the tape spool 12 of thelaminate tape 11 to the tape feed roller 18. The laminate tape 11 isconveyed to the position of the tape feed roller 18 without coming intocontact with the band-shaped sheet member 16 while following a courseregulated by the guide roller 28A and the guide walls 28B and 28C.

The ribbon spool 14 and the ribbon take-up spool 15 are disposed on theback side of the laminate tape 11, i.e., on the side where the laminatetape 11 is adhered to the band-shaped sheet member 16. Accordingly, thelaminate tape 11 and the ink ribbon 13 are superposed on each other andare sandwiched between a rotatable platen 20 and a thermal head 19erected on the body of the RFID label producing device 1.

The platen 20 and the sub-roller 21 are rotatably supported by a rollersupporter 22, and a bias is given toward the thermal head 19 and thesub-roller 21 when the RFID label 70 is produced. The band-shaped sheetmember 16 and the laminate tape 11 contained in the cartridge 10 arerotated while being held between the sub-roller 21 and the tape feedroller 18, so that the sub-roller 21 feeds the tape while allowing thelaminate tape 11 and the band-shaped sheet member 16 to adhere to eachother.

When the cartridge 10 is detached, the roller supporter 22 is rotated ona supporting shaft 27, and the platen 20 and the sub-roller 21 supportedby the roller supporter 22 recede from the cartridge 10. When the RFIDlabel 70 shown in FIG. 4C is produced after the cartridge 10 isattached, the platen 20 and the sub-roller 21 are urged toward thecartridge 10, and are brought into contact with the cartridge 10, i.e.,reach the state of FIG. 2.

Therefore, when the elements contained in the cartridge 10, i.e., thelaminate tape 11, the band-shaped sheet member 16, and the ink ribbon 13run out, or when the width or kind of the tape is changed, such areplenishment or change can be easily made by allowing a user of theRFID label producing device 1 to exchange the cartridge 10.

The thermal head 19 has a plurality of heater elements, e.g., 128 heaterelements (not shown) arranged in the upward and downward directions,i.e., in the width direction of the laminate tape 11. A range where animage can be formed by the thermal head 19 is determined in accordancewith the tape width of the laminate tape 11. For example, this range isa part corresponding to the width dimension of the laminate tape 11 thatis stuck in an area specified between twoalternate-long-and-two-short-dashes lines shown in FIG. 6.

When the RFID label 70 is produced, a tape feed motor 36 (see FIG. 3) isfirst driven in a predetermined rotational direction by driving the RFIDlabel producing device 1. Thereafter, the tape feed roller 18 and theribbon take-up spool 15 are synchronously driven in a predeterminedwinding rotational direction through a gear mechanism (not shown) bydriving the tape feed motor 36 in this way. The rotational direction ofthe ribbon take-up spool 15 is shown by the arrow of FIG. 2.

The heater elements of the thermal head 19 are energized in accordancewith the conveyance of the laminate tape 11, and characters and marks(including bar codes) are printed on the back surface of the laminatetape 11 by a plurality of dot arrays printed by the heater elements.Thereafter, the band-shaped sheet member 16 is adhered to the backsurface of the laminate tape 11, so that a RFID label 23 extending likea tape is produced. The RFID label 23 is then sent in a tape feeddirection T, and is discharged out of the RFID label producing device 1as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. The RFID label 23 is then cut into RFIDlabels 70 by a cutter (not shown). Since the details of the thermalprinting mechanism PM are known from a conventional technique (seeJapanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. H2-106555, forexample), a description of this mechanism is omitted here.

The laminate tape 11 wound on the tape spool 12 that has a predeterminedtape width or spool width (for example, one of five kinds of widths 6mm, 9 mm, 12 mm, 18 mm, and 24 mm) is beforehand placed in the cartridge10. Three detection holes 24, 25, and 26 are formed in the bottom wallof the cartridge 10. The detection holes 24, 25, and 26 are closedaccording to different combinations of the detection holes so that thetape width,.which is one of the five kinds, can be detected. A cassettesensor 30 (see FIG. 3), which outputs tape cassette information bydetecting the width or kind of the tape from a combination of thedetection holes 24, 25, and 26 any one of which is open or closed, isattached to a part of the RFID label producing device 1 supporting thelower side of the cartridge 10.

Next, an electric structure of the RFID label producing device 1 will bedescribed with reference to the block diagram of FIG. 3.

A control unit 6 is made up of a CPU 40, an input-output interface 44connected to the CPU 40 through a bus 45, such as a data bus, a displaycharacter generator ROM (a display CG-ROM) 41, a print charactergenerator ROM (a print CG-ROM) 42, a ROM 43, and a RAM 50. Display dotpattern data of predetermined character sizes concerning each of manycharacters, such as alphabetical letters and marks, is stored in thedisplay CG-ROM 41. Print dot pattern data concerning each of manycharacters, such as alphabetical letters and marks, is stored in theprint CG-ROM 42, including a plurality of print character sizes incorrespondence with code data for each font.

The keyboard 3, the cassette sensor 30, a display controller 32including a video RAM (VRAM) 31 used to output display data to thedisplay 4, a drive circuit 35 that drives the thermal head 19, and adrive circuit 37 that drives the tape feed motor 36 are connected to theinput-output interface 44 of the control unit 6.

A display drive control program that controls the display controller 32in accordance with code data about characters, such as letters,numerals, and marks, input from the keyboard 3, a print drive controlprogram that gives printing instructions to sequentially transfer dotpattern data for each one-dot array for printing to the thermal head 19or to the tape feed motor 36, and a control program for text inputcontrol, typical-label production control, label name selection control,typical-label data input control, text registration control, or bar codeproduction control are stored in the ROM 43 of the control unit 6.

The CPU 40 allows the display 4 to show an image while sequentiallyreading data from the CG-ROMs 41 and 42 based on the input from thekeyboard 3, the detection of the kind of the cartridge 10 by thecassette sensor 30, and the control programs stored in the ROM 43. TheCPU 40 further gives instructions to drive the tape feed motor and tocontrol the thermal head 19 through the drive circuits 35 and 37.

Next, referring to FIGS. 4A to 4C and FIGS. 5A and 5B, a layeredstructure of the band-shaped sheet member 16 contained in the cartridge10 will be described. FIGS. 4A to 4C and FIGS. 5A and 5B are sectionalside views that schematically show the band-shaped sheet member 16. Inother words, FIGS. 4A to 4C and FIGS. 5A and 5B are longitudinalsectional views along the longitudinal direction of the band-shapedsheet member 16 and through the middle in the width direction of theband-shaped sheet member 16. FIGS. 4A to 4C and FIG. 5A are viewsobtained by enlarging one sheet of the band-shaped sheet member 16 orone piece of the RFID label 70 in the thickness direction. FIG. 5B is aview obtained by enlarging a part of the band-shaped sheet member 16wound like a roll in the thickness direction, i.e., in the radialdirection of the roll.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the band-shaped sheet member 16 has a layeredstructure consisting of four layers, i.e., a separation member 62, suchas a silicon-applied sheet of paper or a silicon-impregnated sheet ofpaper, a first adhesive layer 60A, an opaque base-material tape 61, suchas a colored resin sheet, and a second adhesive layer 60B stacked inthis order. An antenna conductor 63 used to function as a RFID label ofan electromagnetic induction type and an IC (RFID) chip 64 connected tothe antenna conductor 63 are interposed between the first adhesive layer60A and the base-material tape 61. Therefore, the band-shaped sheetmember 16 is partially thickened in proportion to the thickness of theantenna conductor 63 and the IC chip 64 interposed therebetween. As aresult, convex parts 65A and 65B are formed on the upper and lowersurfaces, respectively. For convenience, the convex parts 65A and 65B ofthe band-shaped sheet member 16 are omitted in the longitudinalsectional views of the band-shaped sheet member 16 shown in FIG. 4B andin the other figures subsequent to FIG. 4B. No trouble occurs inadhesion between the band-shaped sheet member 16 and the laminate tape11 even if the convex parts 65A and 65B are formed.

The antenna conductor 63 and the IC chip 64 are electrically connectedtogether by a connection part (not shown) so as to fulfill apredetermined RFID function. As shown in FIG. 5A, the antenna conductor63 and the IC chip 64 are placed in the band-shaped sheet member 16 atregular intervals each of which corresponds to one piece in thelongitudinal direction of the band-shaped sheet member 16 so that aplurality of RFID labels 70 can be sequentially produced.

When the band-shaped sheet member 16 is adhered to the laminate tape 11at the following step, ink 66, which is a part of the ink ribbon 13, isstuck by local heating according to a predetermined pattern as shown inFIG. 4B. The second adhesive layer 60B and the laminate tape 11 on whichan image, such as a mark, is formed with the ink 66 are nipped betweenthe tape feed roller 18 and the sub-roller 21, which are used as a pair,and are joined together while being adjusted in the width direction bythe guide wall 28C and the other elements. FIG. 4C shows a RFID label 70in which the laminate tape 11 and the second adhesive layer 60B arejoined together in this way. In this state, a surface of the laminatetape 11 onto which the ink 66 has adhered is covered with the laminatetape 11, and is positioned in the inner layer of the RFID label 70, andhence is is never touched directly from the outside.

The thus formed band-shaped sheet member 16 is wound like a roll, and iscontained in the cartridge 10. FIG. 5B schematically shows this state.In this state, the band-shaped sheet member 16 is in layers. Since bothsurfaces of the separation member 62 have undergone silicon processing,the band-shaped sheet member 16 can be appropriately unrolled as shownin FIG. 6 in spite of being in layers. When an end of the band-shapedsheet member 16 wound like a roll and being in layers as shown in FIG.5B is drawn out, the second adhesive layer 60B is easily separated fromanother separation member 62 of the band-shaped sheet member 16contiguous in the thickness direction while the band-shaped sheet member16 is being continuously unrolled. Thereafter, the second adhesive layer60B is joined to the back surface of the laminate tape 11, so that aRFID label 70 is formed.

When this RFID label 70 is stuck onto an article or the like, theseparation member 62 is peeled off, and the adhesive force of the firstadhesive layer 60A enables the adhesion therebetween. In the RFID label70 stuck onto the article, the base-material tape 61 opaqued by, forexample, coloring makes it impossible to visually check the antennaconductor 63 and the IC chip 64, and hence an image with the ink 66 canbe easily seen.

Both surfaces of the separation member 62 have undergone siliconprocessing as mentioned above, and the adhesive force between the firstadhesive layer 60A and the base-material tape 61 is set to besufficiently greater than that between the separation member 62 and thefirst adhesive layer 60A. Therefore, the first adhesive layer 60A andthe base-material tape 61 are never separated from each other when theseparation member 62 is separated therefrom. Likewise, the adhesiveforce between the separation member 62 and the first adhesive layer 60Ais set to be greater than that between the second adhesive layer 60B andthe separation member 62. Therefore, the separation member 62 and thefirst adhesive layer 60A are never separated from each other when theband-shaped sheet member 16 in a wound state is unrolled. When theband-shaped sheet member 16 is wound, the band-shaped sheet member 16may undergo pressure from the outside so that adjacent layers of theband-shaped sheet member 16 wound to have a layered structure come intoclose contact with each other, or the band-shaped sheet member 16 mayuse its own weight so that the adjacent layers thereof come into closecontact with each other.

Outside the cartridge 10, the RFID label 70 formed in this way issequentially cut into each individual RFID label 70 (see FIG. 4C) havinga usable form by a cutting mechanism (not shown) provided in the RFIDlabel producing device 1 along the alternate-long-and-short-dash line ofFIG. 6 at intervals in each of which the antenna conductor 63 and the ICchip 64 are disposed.

As described above, in the RFID label producing device 1 of thisembodiment, an image is formed on the laminate tape 11 that does notinclude the IC chip 64 before joining the laminate tape 11 and theband-shaped sheet member 16 together. To maintain the quality of animage that is formed on the laminate tape 11, the image is formed on theback surface of the laminate tape 11 to which the band-shaped sheetmember 16 is joined. Therefore, the image printed on the RFID label canbe kept in an excellent state without damaging the IC chip 64 and theother elements included therein.

Additionally, in the RFID label producing device 1 of this embodiment,the tape feed roller 18 and the sub-roller 21 between which the laminatetape 11 and the band-shaped sheet member 16 are sandwiched are disposed.The laminate tape 11 and the band-shaped sheet member 16 are adhered toeach other while being conveyed by rotating these rollers, so that eachlabel base material can be joined sequentially from the end thereof.Therefore, advantageously, the RFID label 70 can be prevented from beingpermeated with air by which the outward appearance of the label isimpaired.

Additionally, in the RFID label producing device 1 of this embodiment,the laminate tape 11 and the band-shaped sheet member 16 are joinedtogether by the tape feed roller 18 and the sub-roller 21. Therefore,there is no need to newly provide a carrier roller, or the like, that isused to convey each label base material. This makes it possible tosimplify the structure and to reduce production costs.

Additionally, in this embodiment, since the tape spool 12, the feedspool 17, the guide roller 28A, the guide walls 28B and 28C, and one ofthe two rollers 18 and 21 that constitute an adhering means are disposedin the cartridge detachably attached to the RFID label producing device1, a user of the RFID label producing device 1 can easily perform thejob of exchanging or substituting each label member held by each holdingportion.

Additionally, in this embodiment, the back surface of the laminate tape11 on which an image is formed is exposed until the laminate tape 11 isjoined to the band-shaped sheet member 16 after the image is formedthereon. However, the carrier members, such as the guide roller 28A andthe guide walls 28B and 28C, never come into contact with the area inwhich the image of the laminate tape 11 is formed, and hence the formedimage can be kept in a more excellent state.

Additionally, each label base material can be easily carried by usingthe cartridge 10 of this embodiment. Since an image is formed on theback surface of the laminate tape 11, to which the band-shaped sheetmember 16 is joined, by attaching the cartridge 10 to the RFID labelproducing device 1, the image printed on the RFID label 70 can be keptin an excellent state without damaging the IC chip 64 and the otherelements included therein. In particular, when a bar code is imaged withthe ink 66, no distortion occurs in the image of the bar code withoutexerting a bad influence on the readout of the bar code.

Additionally, the use of the RFID label producing device 1 of thisembodiment makes it easy to stop the operation of producing the RFIDlabel 70 whenever one sheet of the RFID label 70 is produced. Therefore,it is possible to easily produce RFID labels 70 each of which has animage differing from the others.

Additionally, in the RFID label 70 of this embodiment, an image isformed on a surface of the laminate tape 11 to which the sheet member 16is joined, and the surface on which the image is formed can never betouched directly from the outside. Therefore, the image formed thereoncan be protected from becoming blurred, and the image can be kept in anexcellent state.

Additionally, in the RFID label 70 of this embodiment, the base-materialtape 61 is opaque. Therefore, the antenna conductor 63.and the IC chip64 do not disturb the perception of an image formed with the ink 66. Inparticular, in a bar code, a bad influence is not exerted on accuracy inreading the bar code.

Additionally, in the band-shaped sheet member 16 of this embodiment, theseparation member 62, which is placed in an outer layer of theband-shaped sheet member 16 being in layers, is brought into contactwith the second adhesive layer 60B, which is placed in an inner layerthan the layer of the separation member 62 and which is adjacent to theseparation member 62, as shown in FIG. 5B. The band-shaped sheet member16 is wound so that the separation member 62 and the second adhesivelayer 60B adjoining each other are further adhered to each other.Therefore, the band-shaped sheet member 16 wound like a roll never slipsout of place in the width direction. Thus, the band-shaped sheet member16 does not wear down by friction occurring when the band-shaped sheetmember 16 is unrolled or loosened, and the IC chip 64 can be preventedfrom being damaged by the generation of static electricity.

Additionally, in this embodiment, since the band-shaped sheet member 16wound as in FIG. 5B has layers that are pressed against each other andare in close contact with each other, the band-shaped sheet member 16can be made compact when the band-shaped sheet member 16 is loaded intothe RFID label producing device 1. In other words, the band-shaped sheetmember 16 can be more efficiently contained therein.

Additionally, in this embodiment, since the band-shaped sheet member 16is wound in a state in which a plurality of antenna conductors 63 and ICchips 64 are contained in the first adhesive layer 60A, a plurality ofRFID labels 70 can be sequentially produced from one sheet of theband-shaped sheet member 16.

Additionally, in this embodiment, since the antenna conductor 63 and theIC chip 64 are disposed between the first adhesive layer 60A and thesecond adhesive layer 60B, the adhesive layers 60A and 60B can protectthe antenna conductor 63 and the IC chip 64 against an external forcesuch as a shock.

Additionally, in this embodiment, since the base-material tape 61 harderthan the adhesive layers 60A and 60B is disposed between the firstadhesive layer 60A and the second adhesive layer 60B, the band-shapedsheet member 16 is not easily deformed even when an external force, suchas compression, is applied onto the band-shaped sheet member 16.

Additionally, in this embodiment, the antenna conductor 63 and the ICchip 64 are disposed between the opaque base-material tape 61 and thefirst adhesive layer 60A. Therefore, when the laminate tape 11 with animage formed facing the second adhesive layer 60B is stuck, the imageformed on the surface of the laminate tape 11 can be improved invisibility without allowing the antenna conductor 63 and the IC chip 64to be seen. In particular, when a bar code is imaged with the ink 66,the image of the bar code can be advantageously prevented from beingoverlapped with the antenna conductor 63 and the IC chip 64 and frommaking a mistake in reading the bar code.

Additionally, in this embodiment, the first adhesive layer 60A is usedto fix the band-shaped sheet member 16 to other objects, such asarticles of commerce, whereas the second adhesive layer 60B is used tojoin the band-shaped sheet member 16 and a sheet-like member having thesame width as the band-shaped sheet member 16 together while adjustingthem in the width direction. When the band-shaped sheet member 16 isfixed to an object, only the separation member 62 is separated from theband-shaped sheet member 16. Therefore, the band-shaped sheet member 16is prevented from being damaged. The band-shaped sheet member 16 can bemore efficiently loaded into the RFID label producing device 1, and canbe reliably fixed to an object.

Additionally, in this embodiment, the band-shaped sheet member 16 iscontained in the cartridge 10 attachable to the RFID label producingdevice 1. Therefore, when the band-shaped sheet member 16 is loaded intothe RFID label producing device 1, the band-shaped sheet member 16 canbe more efficiently contained therein, and it is possible to reduce thesize of a containing part, which contains the band-shaped sheet member16, of the cartridge 10 attachable to an image forming device.

Second Embodiment

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. Inthe following description, the same reference numerals as in theforegoing embodiment are given to the same element, and a description ofthe same element are omitted.

FIG. 7A is a sectional side view of a RFID label 70 using a laminatetape 11 according to another embodiment. The RFID label 70 of FIG. 7A isdifferent from the aforementioned RFID label 70 (see FIG. 4A to FIG. 5B)only in the laminate tape 11 used to produce the RFID label 70.

The laminate tape 11 of FIG. 7A according to this embodiment is not amere transparent film. This laminate tape 11 has a thermosensitive layer11A that includes a color-producing reagent prepared so that a heatedpart can be colored by local heating in its surface to be joined to theband-shaped sheet member 16 and that is partially colored into a presetcolor, such as black or blue.

The thus structured laminate tape 11 is drawn from the cartridge 10, andthe thermosensitive layer 11A of the laminate tape 11 is heated by thethermal head 19 on the conveying path. As a result, the heated part ispartially colored, and appears as a colored part 67. Accordingly, theRFID label 70 of FIG. 7A is obtained by being joined to the band-shapedsheet member 16 in this state.

When the laminate tape 11 having the thermosensitive layer 11A is used,it becomes unnecessary to provide the ink ribbon. 13, the ribbon spool14 used to wind the ink ribbon 13, and the ribbon take-up spool 15 inthe cartridge 10, and hence the structure of the inside of the cartridge10 becomes simple. It also becomes unnecessary to provide the mechanismthat rotates and drives the ribbon take-up spool 15.

Even the RFID label 70 of FIG. 7A that uses the laminate tape 11 havingthe thermosensitive layer 11A can have the same function as the RFIDlabel 70 shown in FIG. 4A to FIG. 5B. Even when the surface of the RFIDlabel 70 is unintentionally rubbed, the thermosensitive layer 11A can beprevented from being colored by the frictional heat, because thethermosensitive layer 11A is disposed inside the RFID label 70.

In the first embodiment, the adhesive layer 60B used to stick thelaminate tape 11 and the band-shaped sheet member 16 together ispre-formed on the base-material tape 61. However, it is recommended toapply the adhesive layer 60B onto at least one of the laminate tape 11and the band-shaped sheet member 16 immediately before they are stucktogether.

Additionally, unless the image formed with the ink 66, the antennaconductor 63, and the IC chip 64 are damaged, it is permissible to melteither the laminate tape 11 or the band-shaped sheet member 16 with heator ultrasonic waves so as to weld the laminate tape 11 and theband-shaped sheet member 16 together without using an adhesive layer oran adhesive (i.e., laminating agent). Alternatively, it is permissibleto dispose a welding member other than the laminate tape 11 and theband-shaped sheet member 16 therebetween and weld the laminate tape 11and the band-shaped sheet member 16 together by melting the weldingmember.

The phrase “adjusting . . . in a width direction” recited in claim 3denotes that, if the first label base material and the second label basematerial are equal in width, the two are arranged so as to exactlycoincide with each other in the width direction, and, if the first labelbase material and the second label base material are not equal in width,the two are arranged so that, as a minimum, the label base materialsmaller in width does not protrude from the label base material greaterin width. The same applies to the wording recited in claim 7.

Additionally, in this embodiment, the laminate tape 11 and theband-shaped sheet member 16 that mutually have the same width are used.However, without being limited to this, the laminate tape 11 and theband-shaped sheet member 16 may be different in width from each other.If the laminate tape 11 and the band-shaped sheet member 16 aredifferent in width, the laminate tape 11 and the band-shaped sheetmember 16 may be arranged so that, as a minimum, the one that is smallerin width does not protrude from the other that is greater in width.

Additionally, unless an obstruction is caused to the image formation orto the conveyance of the RFID label 70 and the other elements, thelaminate tape 11 and the band-shaped sheet member 16 may disagree in thewidth direction. In other words, it is recommended to establish adesired positional relationship between the laminate tape 11 and theband-shaped sheet member 16 in order to desirably stick these together.

The phrase “a range where an image can be formed” recited in claim 6denotes that, since an image cannot always be formed on the whole of theback surface of the laminate tape (first label base material) 11 on theside where the laminate tape 11 is stuck onto the band-shaped sheetmember 16 (second label base material) depending on the thermalprint-head (image forming means) 19 mounted in the RFID label producingdevice 1, no disadvantage is caused by allowing the conveying-pathforming means to come into contact with a no-image formation part of theback surface when an image cannot be formed on the whole of the backsurface. For example, in this embodiment, the guide roller 28A and theguide walls 28B and 28C provided in the cartridge 10 are disposed so asnot to come into contact with the image formation surface of thelaminate tape 11 on which an image has been formed. However, it ispermissible to stabilize a tape movement by bringing the conveyingmembers (the guide roller 28A, the guide walls 28B and 28C, etc.) intocontact with the no-image formation part of the image formation surfaceof the laminate tape 11.

In the first embodiment, the produced RFID label 70 is structured as anelectromagnetic induction type RFID label 70 by containing the antennaconductor 63 and the IC chip 64 in the band-shaped sheet member 16.However, without being limited to this, the RFID label 70 may bestructured, for example, as an electrostatic coupling type, a UHF type,or an electromagnetic coupling type RFID label 70. Alternatively, theproduced RFID label 70 may be structured as a microwave type RFID label70 by containing the antenna conductor 63 and a reflection circuit. Theantenna conductor 63 may be formed by printing. An upper-lowerrelationship between the antenna conductor 63 and the IC chip 64 may bereversed.

Additionally, in the cartridge 10 according to the first embodiment, thetape spool 12, which serves as a winding core, and the feed spool 17 areused as members supporting the laminate tape 11 and the band-shapedsheet member 16, and each tape is held by these spools. However, withoutbeing limited to this, each tape may be held by walls regulating theouter shape of the laminate tape 11 and the outer shape of theband-shaped sheet member 16.

Additionally, the laminate tape 11 and the band-shaped sheet member 16do not need to be contained in the cartridge 10 while being rolled asshown in FIG. 6. For example, a plurality of strip-like tapes each ofwhich includes one antenna conductor 63 and one IC chip 64 may bestacked up as shown by the solid line of FIG. 5B. If an extremely thinantenna conductor 63 and an extremely thin IC chip 64 are included, theconvex parts 65A and 65B can hardly be formed, and hence an influenceexerted on printing is slight. Although there is a fear that the antennaconductor 63 and the IC chip 64 will be damaged by the heat of thethermal head 19 or by pressure generated by being sandwiched between thethermal head 19 and the platen 20, the damage can be prevented byapplying the present invention in this case.

Additionally, although the RFID label 70 having both the antennaconductor 63 and the IC chip 64 is produced, it is permissible toproduce a label having either one of the antenna conductor 63 and the ICchip 64, and then stick the other one onto the label.

FIG. 7B is a sectional side view of a sheet member 16 used for the RFIDlabel 70 using the laminate tape 11. The sheet member 16 of FIG. 7B isdifferent from the aforementioned RFID label 70 (see FIG. 4A to FIG. 5B)only in that an upper-lower positional relationship between the IC chip64 and the antenna conductor 63 interposed between the base-materialtape 61 and the first adhesive layer 60A is reversed.

In a band-shaped sheet member 16 shown in FIG. 8A, the antenna conductor63 and the IC chip 64 are disposed between the base-material tape 61 andthe second adhesive layer 60B.

In a band-shaped sheet member 16 shown in FIG. 8B, the IC chip 64 isdisposed on the opposite side of the antenna conductor 63 with respectto the band-shaped sheet member 16 of FIG. 8A.

A band-shaped sheet member 16 shown in FIG. 9A consists of three layers,i.e., the separation member 62, the first adhesive layer 60A, and thesecond adhesive layer 60B without including the base-material tape 61,in which the antenna conductor 63 and the IC chip 64 are disposedbetween the first adhesive layer 60A and the second adhesive layer 60B.

In a band-shaped sheet member 16 shown in FIG. 9B, the IC chip 64 isdisposed on the opposite side of the antenna conductor 63 with respectto the band-shaped sheet member 16 of FIG. 9A.

A band-shaped sheet member 16 shown in each of FIGS. 10A to 10D consistsof only two layers, i.e., the separation member 62 and the adhesivelayer 60. In particular, in the band-shaped sheet member 16 of FIG. 10A,the antenna conductor 63 and the IC chip 64 are disposed so that the ICchip 64 is placed on the side of the adhesive layer 60 between theseparation member 62 and the adhesive layer 60.

In the band-shaped sheet member 16 of FIG. 10B, the IC chip 64 isdisposed on the opposite side of the antenna conductor 63 with respectto the band-shaped sheet member 16 of FIG. 10A.

In the band-shaped sheet member 16 of FIG. 10C, the antenna conductor 63and the IC chip 64 are disposed so that IC chip 64 is placed on theopposite side of the separation member 62 on a surface of the adhesivelayer 60 opposite the separation member 62.

In the band-shaped sheet member 16 of FIG. 10D, the IC chip 64 isdisposed on the opposite side of the antenna conductor 63 with respectto the band-shaped sheet member 16 of FIG. 10C.

The same RFID label 70 as the RFID label 70 described in the firstembodiment can be produced even if the thus structured band-shaped sheetmember 16 is used.

In the band-shaped sheet member 16, the second adhesive layer 60B may bepartially covered with the antenna conductor 63 and the IC chip 64.

In this embodiment, the band-shaped sheet member 16 is contained in thecartridge 10 attached to the RFID label producing device 1, and, whenthe band-shaped sheet member 16 is completely used up, a user exchangesthe cartridge 10 so as to be replenished with a new band-shaped sheetmember 16. However, without being limited to this structure, it ispermissible to, for example, contain the band-shaped sheet member 16 ina position, which the user of the RFID label producing device 1 cannottouch, and supply a new band-shaped sheet member 16 to that position bya special service person or a similar person when the band-shaped sheetmember 16 is used up.

Although the RFID label 70 having both the antenna conductor 63 and theIC chip 64 is produced in the above embodiment, it is permissible toproduce a label having either one of the antenna conductor 63 and the ICchip 64, and then stick the other one onto the label. It is alsopermissible to construct the RFID label producing device 1 so that datacan be written into or read from the IC chip 64 by a read/write device Vsimultaneously or almost simultaneously with image formation.Alternatively, pre-written data may be read.

Even in this case, the band-shaped sheet member 16 does not wear down byfriction occurring when the band-shaped sheet member 16 slips out ofplace, and the band-shaped sheet member 16 can be prevented from beingdamaged by the generation of static electricity. When the band-shapedsheet member 16 is loaded into the RFID label producing device 1, theband-shaped sheet member 16 can be more efficiently contained.

In the aforementioned embodiment, the band-shaped sheet member 16 iscontained in the cartridge 10 attached to the RFID label producingdevice 1. However, without being limited to this, the band-shaped sheetmember 16 may be contained in the cartridge 10 attachable to anidentification data writing device for writing identification data tothe IC chip 64. Even in this example, a containing part in which theband-shaped sheet member 16 is contained can be made compact.

Since the separation member 62 can be separated from the first adhesivelayer 60A, the second adhesive layer 60B is exposed by separating theseparation member 62 from the band-shaped sheet member 16 withoutjoining the second adhesive layer 60B and the laminate tape 11 together,and hence the band-shaped sheet member 16 can be used as a double-facedtape. Therefore, articles between which the band-shaped sheet member 16is placed can be stuck together without applying an adhesive or asimilar agent onto either the band-shaped sheet member 16 or the articlewhenever the band-shaped sheet member 16 is stuck onto the article.

In the sheet member 16 used for the RFID label, the adhesive layer maybe partially covered with the information discriminating portion. Evenin the thus structured sheet member 16, the same effect as theaforementioned sheet member used for the RFID label can be obtained.

Third Embodiment

FIG. 11 shows an example in which square or rectangular sheet members 16or RFID labels 70 are contained in a box P, which is a wrapper, shown bythe alternate long and short dash line, for example, to sell theband-shaped sheet members 16 as a single item. In this example, theband-shaped sheet members 16 are conveyed while each tape is peeled offso as to sequentially produce the RFID labels 70. Even in this example,an image printed on the RFID label 70 can be kept in an excellent statewithout damaging the IC chip 64 and the other elements included in theRFID label 70.

Since the IC chips 64 are disposed so as not to coincide with each otherin the plane direction between the sheet members 16 or the RFID labels70 adjoining in the thickness direction, the box P can be made smaller,or, if the size of the box P is fixed, more sheet members 16 or moreRFID labels 70 can be contained therein.

Fourth Embodiment

FIG. 12A is an explanatory drawing for explaining the details of aband-shaped sheet member 16 according to another embodiment of thepresent invention, and FIG. 13 is a sectional view of the band-shapedsheet member 16 wound like a roll so as to be in layers in the thicknessdirection, i.e., in the radial direction of the roll. In FIG. 12A, anRFID chip 64, which is a RFID element, and a long antenna conductor 63parallel to a band-shaped base-material tape 61 in the longitudinaldirection are disposed as one label unit on the base-material tape 61.The RFID chip 64 and the antenna conductor 63 are embedded in thebase-material tape 61 by allowing a separation member 62 to be joinedfrom above the base-material tape 61 with a first adhesive layer 60Abetween the separation member 62 and the base-material tape 61. Thus,labels 68 each of which has one information discriminating portion 69serving as a responder consisting of the antenna conductor 63 and theRFID chip 64 are produced. The band-shaped sheet member 16 is formed bycontinuously arranging the labels 68 in the longitudinal direction.

The RFID chip 64 and the RFID antenna conductor 63 are connectedtogether by a connecting portion (not shown) so that the informationdiscriminating portion 69 fulfills a predetermined RFID function.

The sheet member 16 is an aggregation of band-shaped labels as a wholeformed by arranging a plurality of labels 68 each of which has theinformation discriminating portion 69 in the longitudinal direction ofthe base-material tape 61.

Both sides of the separation member 62 undergo silicon processing, sothat the separation member 62 is separable from the second adhesivelayer 60B adjoining thereto, and is also separable from the firstadhesive layer 60A in the same stack of layers. Therefore, theband-shaped sheet member 16 being in a wound state can be appropriatelyunrolled while drawing an end thereof.

The information discriminating portions 69 each of which is included inthe label 68 are arranged in the longitudinal direction of the extendedband-shaped sheet member 16, i.e., in the rightward and leftwarddirections of FIG. 12A, and the information discriminating portions 69a, 69 b, and 69 c adjoining in the longitudinal direction are in anon-aligned state in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinaldirection of the band-shaped sheet member 16, i.e., in the widthdirection of the band-shaped sheet member 16, i.e., in the upward anddownward directions of FIG. 12A. In other words, the informationdiscriminating portions 69 are dispersed in the width direction by beingdisposed at different positions in the width direction. Since theadjoining information discriminating portions 69 a, 69 b, and 69 c arearranged in a non-aligned manner in a state of being extended on oneplane in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction ofthe band-shaped sheet member 16, the information discriminating portions69 adjoining in the thickness direction, in particular, the RFID chips64 each of which has a greater thickness, are rarely overlapped witheach other in a direction R, which is one radial direction of the rollof the rolled band-shaped sheet member 16, or in a direction in whichthe sheets of the label base materials are stacked up when theband-shaped sheet member 16 is wound like a roll, or when theband-shaped sheet member 16 is cut along the alternate long and shortdash line for each label 68 into sheets of RFID label base materials,and these sheets of RFID label base materials are stacked up. Therefore,a widthwise part of the band-shaped sheet member 16 never greatlyprotrudes from the rolled band-shaped sheet member 16 because of theinformation discriminating portions 69. Therefore, the radius R of therolled band-shaped sheet member 16 can be made as small as possible,and, as a result, a spatial advantage can be obtained when theband-shaped sheet member 16 is contained in the cartridge 10, in theRFID label producing device 1, and in the box P used as a wrapper.

The reason is that, even if a plurality of information discriminatingportions 69 are disposed in one cross-sectional plane perpendicular toan axis X in the longitudinal direction of-the band-shaped sheet member16, the information discriminating portions 69 are dispersed in thewidth direction of the band-shaped sheet member 16, and hence the radiusof the rolled-up sheet member 16 does not easily become large.

Additionally, when the first and second adhesive layers 60A and 60B arebrought into contact with a part swollen from the informationdiscriminating portion 69 and are pressed in accordance with the windingof the band-shaped sheet member 16, the adhesive layers 60A and 60B arecompressed to somewhat absorb the swell, because the first and secondadhesive layers 60A and 60B are elastic. In other words, in theband-shaped sheet member 16 wound to be in layers, the layers are inclose contact with each other, and hence the radius of the rolled-upsheet member 16 does not easily become large by cooperation between thewidthwise dispersion of the information discriminating portions 69 andthe elasticity of the first and second adhesive layers 60A and 60B.

Additionally, when the band-shaped sheet member 16 is cut for each label68 into rectangular or square sheets of RFID label base materials, andthe sheets of RFID label base materials are stacked up, the thickness ofthe whole of the sheets of RFID label base materials stacked up can bereduced by arranging the information discriminating portions 69 in anon-aligned state.

The first and second adhesive layers 60A and 60B do not always need tobe compressed. Additionally, if the band-shaped sheet member 16 is woundso that a widthwise part of the band-shaped sheet member 16 remarkablyswells, there is a fear that this swell will cause a warp after a labelis completed. However, in this embodiment, the cause of the warp isremoved.

In the longitudinal direction of the band-shaped sheet member 16 thathas been extended, i.e., that has been unrolled, examples shown in FIG.12B to FIG. 12D can be mentioned as examples of an arrangement patternin which the information discriminating portions 69 are arranged withpredetermined intervals in the width direction and in the longitudinaldirection of the band-shaped sheet member 16, besides the arrangementpattern of FIG. 12A.

First, in the arrangement pattern of FIG. 12B, a plurality ofinformation discriminating portions 69 are arranged such that theinformation discriminating portions 69 gradually approach a side edge ofthe band-shaped sheet member 16, and gradually recede from the side edgethereof correspondingly with the progression of the informationdiscriminating portions 69 in the longitudinal direction of theband-shaped sheet member 16. Let us see the row of the informationdiscriminating portions 69 from the left to the right in FIG. 12B. Whenone of the information discriminating portions 69 is disposed near theupper side edge of the band-shaped sheet member 16 shown in FIG. 12B,the next information discriminating portion 69 is disposed closer to thelower side edge of the band-shaped sheet member 16 than the informationdiscriminating portion 69 disposed near the upper side edge with respectto the widthwise position of the band-shaped sheet member 16. In otherwords, the information discriminating portions 69 are sequentiallyarranged toward either one of both side edges of the band-shaped sheetmember 16, the information discriminating portions 69 following theinformation discriminating portion disposed near the side edge arearranged to approach the opposite side edge of the band-shaped sheetmember 16 with respect to the width direction of the band-shaped sheetmember 16.

As in the arrangement pattern of FIG. 12B, in the arrangement pattern ofFIG. 12C, when one of the information discriminating portions 69 isdisposed near the upper side edge of the band-shaped sheet member 16shown in FIG. 12C, the next information discriminating portion 69 isdisposed closer to the lower side edge of the band-shaped sheet member16 than the information discriminating portion 69 disposed near theupper side edge with respect to the widthwise position of theband-shaped sheet member 16. However, when one of the informationdiscriminating portions 69 is disposed near one of both side edges,i.e., near the upper side edge of the band-shaped sheet member 16 inFIG. 12C, the next information discriminating portion 69 is disposednear the opposite side edge, i.e., near the lower side edge of theband-shaped sheet member 16, and the information discriminating portions69 following the next information discriminating portion are arranged togradually approach the upper side edge of the band-shaped sheet member16 again.

In the arrangement pattern of FIG. 12D, when one of the informationdiscriminating portions 69 is disposed near the upper side edge of theband-shaped sheet member 16 in FIG. 12D, the next informationdiscriminating portion 69 following this one is likewise disposed nearthe upper side edge, and the information discriminating portionsfollowing this next one are arranged to gradually approach the lowerside edge of the band-shaped sheet member 16 in FIG. 12D.

Among the aforementioned arrangement patterns, the arrangement patternsof FIGS. 12C and 12D are preferable to the arrangement pattern of FIG.12B, because the information discriminating portions 69 are moredispersed as a whole in the width direction of the band-shaped sheetmember 16, and parts swollen by the information discriminating portions69 are more rarely overlapped with each other in the radial direction Rof the rolled-up sheet member 16.

Fifth Embodiment

Next, three modifications of the band-shaped sheet member 16 will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 14, FIG. 15, and FIG. 16.

In the band-shaped sheet member 16 of FIG. 14, a plurality ofinformation discriminating portions 69 are disposed in the longitudinaldirection of the band-shaped sheet member 16 unrolled as shown in FIG.14. In the band-shaped sheet member 16 unrolled in the longitudinaldirection, a center axis W extending in the longitudinal direction ofeach of the information discriminating portions 69 a and 69 b is set soas to be nonparallel to the axis X extending in the longitudinaldirection of the unrolled band-shaped sheet member 16 (in rightward andleftward directions in FIG. 14), i.e., is slantingly set to make a tiltangle E with the axis X extending in the longitudinal direction of theband-shaped sheet member 16, i.e., is set so as to be nonparallel to theaxis X (so as to intersect the axis X) extending in the longitudinaldirection.

When the information discriminating portions 69 are arranged in thisway, parts swollen by the information discriminating portions 69 are noteasily overlapped with each other. Therefore, a widthwise part of theband-shaped sheet member 16 is not remarkably protruded from theband-shaped sheet member 16 wound like a roll because of the informationdiscriminating portions 69, and the radius R of the rolled-up sheetmember 16 can be made as small as possible. Therefore, when theband-shaped sheet member 16 is contained in at least one of thecartridge 10, the RFID label producing device 1, and the box P used as awrapper, a spatial advantage can be obtained. The informationdiscriminating portions 69 may be brought into a non-aligned state inthe width direction of the band-shaped sheet member 16 as in theforegoing embodiment.

In the band-shaped sheet member 16 of FIG. 15, the band-shaped sheetmember 16 is unrolled and extended in the longitudinal direction, and aplurality of information discriminating portions 69 are arranged in thelongitudinal direction of the band-shaped sheet member 16. Center axesWa and Wb extending in the longitudinal direction of the adjoininginformation discriminating portions 69 a and 69 b, i.e., of the antennaconductors 63 are set so as to be nonparallel to the axis X (so as tointersect the axis X) extending in the longitudinal direction of theextended band-shaped sheet member 16 (in rightward and leftwarddirections in FIG. 15), and are set axisymmetrically (angle Ea=angle Eb)with respect to a center axis Cab between the adjoining informationdiscriminating portions 69 a and 69 b. Likewise, the adjoininginformation discriminating portions 69 b and 69 c are disposed so as tobe nonparallel to the axis X in the longitudinal direction of theextended band-shaped sheet member 16, and are disposed axisymmetrically(angle Eb=angle Ec) with respect to a center axis between the adjoininginformation discriminating portions.

As a result of arranging the information discriminating portions 69 inthis way, parts swollen by the information discriminating portions 69are not easily overlapped with each other as in the foregoing example.Therefore, a widthwise part of the band-shaped sheet member 16 is notremarkably protruded from the band-shaped sheet member 16 wound like aroll because of the information discriminating portions 69, and theradius R of the rolled-up sheet member 16 can be made as small aspossible. Therefore, when the band-shaped sheet member 16 is containedin at least one of the cartridge 10, the RFID label producing device 1,and the box P used as a wrapper, a spatial advantage can be obtained.

In the band-shaped sheet member 16 of FIG. 16, the band-shaped sheetmember 16 is unrolled and extended in the longitudinal direction, and aplurality of information discriminating portions 69 are arranged in thelongitudinal direction of the band-shaped sheet member 16. As in FIG.15, adjoining RFID chips 64 a and 64 b are deviated from a directionperpendicular to the axis X extending in the longitudinal direction ofthe sheet member 16 (rightward and leftward directions in FIG. 16),i.e., are deviated from the width direction of the band-shaped sheetmember 16, and are alternately disposed with respect to a substantiallycentral axis in the width direction. When the RFID chips 64 are deviatedfrom the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of thesheet member 16 in this way, the RFID chips can be effectively preventedfrom being overlapped with each other even if the band-shaped sheetmember 16 is wound like a roll. Therefore, a widthwise part of theband-shaped sheet member 16 is not remarkably protruded from theband-shaped sheet member 16 because of the information discriminatingportions 69, and the radius R of the rolled-up sheet member 16 can bemade small.

In the foregoing embodiment and modifications, a description has beengiven of an example in which the labels 68 including the informationdiscriminating portions 69 are formed on the band-shaped base-materialtape 61. However, even when a member to which substantially rectangularlabels 68 each of which has a predetermined size shown by the brokenline of FIG. 14 to FIG. 16 are joined by separation paper, instead ofthe band-shaped base-material tape 61, is used as a band-shaped sheetmember, the same effect can be obtained.

Sixth Embodiment

In FIG. 17, an information discriminating portion 69 is embedded in asquare holding sheet member 71 corresponding to the sheet member 16 ofthe RFID label 70. A plurality of holding sheet members (e.g., fourholding sheet members) 71 are contained in a box P in a state of beingstacked up in upward and downward directions. The holding sheet members71a and 71b facing each other among these holding sheet members 71 arestacked up so that the positions of the information discriminatingportions 69 do not coincide with each other in a plane perpendicular toa stack direction S (i.e., upward and downward directions in FIG. 17).Seeing the holding sheet members 71 a and 71 b stacked up from the stackdirection S, the plane perpendicular to the stack direction S is a planeperpendicular to the stack direction S when planes formed by the holdingsheet members 71 a and 71 b are stacked up.

When stacked in this way, the holding sheet members 71 have theirinformation discriminating portions 69 disposed diagonally to eachother, for example. This reduces the frequency of overlapping the swellscaused by the information discriminating portions 69 with each other inthe stack direction S. Therefore, the thickness of the whole of theholding sheet members 71 stacked up is never increased by the swellscaused by the information discriminating portions 69, and hence anoticeable space-saving effect can be obtained.

In FIG. 18, an information discriminating portion 69 is embedded in acircular holding sheet member 72 instead of the square holding sheetmember 71 of FIG. 17. The circular holding sheet members 72 are stackedup in upward and downward directions S in FIG. 18. At this time, theinformation discriminating portions 69 of the holding sheet members 72 aand 72 b facing each other are disposed with intervals of 90 degrees,and hence the holding sheet members 72 are stacked up so that thepositions of the information discriminating portions 69 do not coincidewith each other in a plane perpendicular to the stack direction S as inthe modification of FIG. 17. Therefore, since the frequency ofoverlapping the information discriminating portions 69 with each otherin the stack direction S is decreased even when the circular holdingsheet members 72 of this embodiment are stacked up, the thickness of thewhole of the holding sheet members 72 stacked up is restrained frombeing increased by the swells caused by the information discriminatingportions 69, and a noticeable space-saving effect can be obtained.

In the circular holding sheet member 72, the interval angle at which theinformation discriminating portions 69 are disposed is not limited to 90degrees. An angle of 30 degrees, 45 degrees, or 120 degrees may beappropriately employed depending on the shape or size of the informationdiscriminating portion 69.

In the holding sheet member 71 of FIG. 17 and the holding sheet member72 of FIG. 18, the circular RFID antenna conductor 63 is used. However,instead of this, various types of antenna conductors, such as a long oneas shown in FIG. 12, an elliptic one, a rectangular one, or a larger onethan that of FIG. 12 can be used. Likewise, the square holding sheetmember 71 or the circular holding sheet member 72 may be a rectangularor elliptic holding sheet member.

Many of the information discriminating portions 69 are not overlappedwith each other in a predetermined direction in every structurementioned above, and hence, even if excessive pressure is applied fromone direction, many of the information discriminating portions 69 willnot be damaged by the pressure.

Since the RFID chip 64 has a greater thickness than the antennaconductor 63 formed by a thin film metal or by printing, a part in whichthe RFID chip 64 is embedded appears as the top of a swollen part in theband-shaped sheet member 16 in most cases. However, if the informationdiscriminating portion 69 is formed by disposing the RFID chip 64 so asto come into close contact with the flat part of the antenna conductor63, the RFID chip 64 appears as the top of a swollen part in theband-shaped sheet member 16, without being limited to a case in whichthe RFID chip 64 is thicker than the antenna conductor 63. In otherwords, in the band-shaped sheet member 16 and the holding sheets 31 and32 according to the foregoing embodiments and the third to fifthmodifications, the top of a swollen part resulting from the presence ofthe RFID chip 64, which is one of the members constituting theinformation discriminating portion 69, is properly dispersed in thewidth direction or other directions. Therefore, the band-shaped sheetmember 16 and the holding sheets 31and 32 are formed so that the overlapof the swollen part caused by the RFID chip 64 becomes small in theradial direction of the rolled-up sheet member or in the stackdirection.

In the modifications of FIG. 14 and FIG. 15, the RFID chips 64 arearranged in a line in the longitudinal direction of the band-shapedsheet member 16 unrolled and extended. The band-shaped sheet member 16is formed so that a swollen part resulting from the presence of theantenna conductor 63, which is one of the members constituting theinformation discriminating portion 69, can be appropriately dispersedwhen the band-shaped sheet member 16 is wound. In other words, the sheetmember 16 is formed so that the overlap of a part swollen by the antennaconductor 63 in the radial direction R of the rolled-up sheet memberbecomes smaller by allowing the antenna conductor 63 to intersect withthe longitudinal direction of the band-shaped sheet member 16 than aconventional arrangement pattern shown in FIG. 19 in which a directionin which conventional information discriminating portions 270 arearranged, the longitudinal direction of a band-shaped sheet member 160,and the longitudinal direction of the information discriminating portion270 are made parallel to each other.

In a conventional technique, to produce the RFID label member, eachinformation discriminating portion 270 is nipped from both sides, and isembedded in a band-shaped sheet member 160 made of, for example, paperso that the information discriminating portions 270 each of which ismade up of an RFID chip 250 and a RFID antenna conductor 260 arearranged in a line in the longitudinal direction of the band-shapedsheet member 160 as shown in FIG. 19, and an image is printed directlyonto the surface of the band-shaped sheet member 160. When eachband-shaped sheet member 160 is wound or rolled in order to keep a largenumber of band-shaped sheet members 160, the surface of the band-shapedsheet member 160 is partially swollen since the informationdiscriminating portion 270 having a certain degree of thickness isembedded in the band-shaped sheet member 160. When this band-shapedsheet member 160 is wound, a gap occurs between adjoining layers in theradial direction of the rolled-up sheet member 160 being layers in thethickness direction of the band-shaped sheet member 160, e.g., between afirst peripheral layer part 160 a and a second peripheral layer part 160b shown in FIG. 13. Therefore, the radius of the roll of the rolled-upsheet member 160 becomes larger across the full width thereof than acase in which the information discriminating portion 270 is not embeddedin the band-shaped sheet member 160. In particular, if the informationdiscriminating portions 270 embedded in adjoining layers, in particular,the RFID chips 250, are disposed so as to face each other when theband-shaped sheet member 160 is wound, the roll radius will becomelarger than a case in which the RFID chips 250 do not face each other inthe whole of the rolled-up sheet member 160.

In the structure in which the information discriminating portions 270are arranged in a line, the information discriminating portions 270gather at a specific position in the width direction of the band-shapedsheet member 160, and a swollen part of a layer is overlapped with aswollen part of another layer. Therefore, even if the band-shaped sheetmember 160 is more tightly wound to remove a gap between the layers, theneighborhood of the information discriminating portion 270 will be onlytightened. The specific part, at which the information discriminatingportions 270 gather, in the width direction of the band-shaped sheetmember 160 remarkably rises, and the roll radius corresponding to thespecific part hardly decreases. In the conventional technique, the planeshape of the label base material to be embedded in the informationdiscriminating portion 270 is not a long one like a band, but arectangular, square, or circular one. Likewise, when sheets of labelbase materials are stacked up to keep many sheets of label basematerials, the whole of the sheets of label base materials stacked upbecomes larger in thickness in the stack direction than a case in whichthe information discriminating portion 270 is not embedded in the sheetof label base material. Therefore, the conventional technique has aproblem in the fact that a large space is required to keep the RFIDlabels having the information discriminating portions and theband-shaped sheet member used as a material thereof or to contain thesemembers in, for example, a cartridge.

Seventh Embodiment

FIG. 20 is a view for explaining an embodiment according to which theinformation discriminating portion 69 of the band-shaped sheet member 16is reliably prevented from being damaged.

In FIG. 20, the RFID chip 64, which is a RFID element, and the long RFIDantenna conductor 63 are embedded as one label unit in the band-shapedbase-material tape 61. The label 68 having the informationdiscriminating portion 69 is formed by being cut along the alternatelong and short dash line of FIG. 20. A plurality of labels 68 each ofwhich has the information discriminating portion 69 can be formed in thelongitudinal direction of the base-material tape 61, i.e., in therightward and leftward directions of FIG. 20, and the whole thereof isthe band-shaped sheet member 16 of the present invention.

In the RFID label producing device 1, when the band-shaped sheet member16 wound like a roll is used, a part of the band-shaped sheet member 16is protruded from the band-shaped sheet member 16 because of thethickness of both the RFID chip 64 and the RFID antenna conductor 63 ofthe information discriminating portion 69, and, as a result, a swell isformed. As shown in FIG. 21, a plurality of annular concave grooves,i.e., two concave parts 18a and 18b in this embodiment, serving aspressure-absorbing means for absorbing a force pressing against theinformation discriminating portion 69 by partially reducing the diameterare formed at positions, which face the swells, of the roller surface(i.e., the outer peripheral surface) of a tape feed roller 18 thatfunctions as a carrier roller.

The width of each of the concave parts 18 a and 18 b, i.e., the widthdimension of the annular concave groove is greater than the widthdimension of the information discriminating portion 69 in a directionperpendicular to a direction in which the information discriminatingportion 69 is conveyed, i.e., in the upward and downward directions inFIG. 20. If the RFID antenna conductor 63 is formed like a thin film byprinting, the width of each of the concave parts 18 a and 18 b may besmaller than the width of the RFID antenna conductor 63 as long as thewidth of each of the concave parts 18 a and 18 b is greater than thewidth of the RFID chip 64.

The use of the tape feed roller 18 having the concave parts 18 a and 18b formed in the roller surface makes it possible to absorb an excessiveforce pressing against the information storage part 69 embedded in theband-shaped sheet member 16 when the band-shaped sheet member 16 issandwiched between the tape feed roller 18 and the feed roller 21 whilebeing conveyed, and makes it possible to reliably prevent identificationdata used as pieces of information from being lost or reliably preventthe information discriminating portion 69 from being destroyed by adeterioration in the RFID chip 64 resulting from the excessive pressingforce against the RFID chip 64.

Additionally, the information discriminating portion 69 is preventedfrom not fulfilling a predetermined RFID function as a result of thedestruction of a connecting portion between the RFID chip 64 and theRFID antenna conductor 63 by the pressure against the informationdiscriminating portion 69.

It is recommended to form the concave parts 18 a and 18 b so as to havea depth proportional to the height of a swollen part generated by thethickness of the RFID chip 64 or the thickness of the RFID antennaconductor 63 of the information discriminating portion 69. That is, thewidth dimension or the depth dimension is determined so that the rollersurface functioning as the bottom of each of the concave parts 18 a and18 b does not exert an excessive pressing force on the informationdiscriminating portion 69. The amount of the hollow of each of theconcave parts 18 a and 18 b may be determined so that a pressing forceis not exerted on the information discriminating portion 69 by keepingthe information discriminating portion 69 and the roller surface apartfrom each other, or so that such a certain degree of pressing force asnot to destroy or degrade the information discriminating portion 69 isexerted on the information discriminating portion 69 by bringing theinformation discriminating portion 69 and the roller surface into slightcontact with each other. The reason is that the laminate tape 11 and theband-shaped sheet member 16 are appropriately stuck together by exertingsuch a certain degree of pressing force as not to destroy or degrade theinformation discriminating portion 69 thereon, or that the laminate tape11 and the band-shaped sheet member 16 are excellently conveyed byincreasing a contact area between the information discriminating portion69 and the roller surface without keeping the two apart from each other.In many cases, in the information discriminating portion 69, the RFIDchip 64 is thicker than the RFID antenna conductor 63, and the RFID chip64 is more protruded toward the tape feed roller 18 than the RFIDantenna conductor 63. Therefore, it is recommended to uniformly form therecess in accordance with the RFID chip 64. However, if the RFID chip 64is surrounded with the RFID antenna conductor 63 that is thicker thanthe RFID chip 64 or that is more protruded toward the tape feed roller18 than the RFID chip 64, the RFID antenna conductor 63 is moreprotruded toward the tape feed roller 18 than the RFID chip 64. If so,it is recommended to uniformly form the recess in accordance with theRFID antenna conductor 63. In other words, the recess is formed inaccordance with a part that is farthest protruded toward the tape feedroller 18. There is no need to form a two-step recess.

The position where the information discriminating portion 69 shown inFIG. 20 is embedded and the position where the concave parts 18 a and 18b shown in FIG. 21 are formed can be arbitrarily determined so thatthese positions coincide with each other.

The concave part 18 a faces the information discriminating portions 69 aarranged in series in the longitudinal direction of the band-shapedsheet member 16 on the upper side of the band-shaped sheet member 16 inFIG. 20 as shown by the broken line of FIG. 20, whereas the concave part18 b faces the information discriminating portions 69 b arranged inseries in the longitudinal direction of the band-shaped sheet member 16on the lower side of the band-shaped sheet member 16 in FIG. 20 as shownby the alternate long and short dash line of FIG. 20. As describedabove, several rows of information discriminating portions 69 arrangedin the longitudinal direction of the band-shaped sheet member 16 (e.g.,a row of the information discriminating portions 69 a shown by thebroken line in FIG. 20 and a row of the information discriminatingportions 69 b shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG.20) are disposed so that the rows are apart from each other at differentpositions in the width direction of the band-shaped sheet member 16,i.e., in a direction in which the rotational axis center of the tapefeed roller 18 used to convey the band-shaped sheet member 16 extends.Even if several rows of information discriminating portions 69 areembedded in the band-shaped sheet member 16 in this way, it is possibleto absorb an excessive pressing force exerted on the informationdiscriminating portions 69 embedded at positions apart from each otherin the width direction of the band-shaped sheet member 16 by providing aplurality of concave parts (e.g., the concave parts 18 a and 18 b) witha gap therebetween in the width direction of the band-shaped sheetmember 16 in accordance with the positions where the informationdiscriminating portions 69 are embedded in the width direction of theband-shaped sheet member 16 or in accordance with the number of rows ofthe information discriminating portions 69 in the width direction, i.e.,in accordance with the number (“2″ in FIG. 20) of rows extending in thelongitudinal direction of the band-shaped sheet member 16.

For example, even in a case in which the two rows, i.e., the row ofinformation discriminating portions 69 a shown by the broken line inFIG. 20 and the row of information discriminating portions 69 b shown bythe alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 20 are provided in theband-shaped sheet member 16 with an interval between the two rows in thewidth direction of the band-shaped sheet member 16 and in which the tworows of information discriminating portions 69 a and 69 b simultaneouslypass between the tape feed roller 18 and the feed roller 21, the twoconcave parts 18 a and 18 b are formed on the entire periphery of thetape feed roller 18 in accordance with the positions of the two rows ofinformation discriminating portions 69 a and 69 b in the width directionof the band-shaped sheet member 16, and excessive pressing forcesexerted on the row of information discriminating portions 69 a and onthe row of information discriminating portions 69 b can besimultaneously absorbed. Additionally, even in a case in which the tworows of information discriminating portions 69 a and 69 b pass betweenthe tape feed roller 18 and the feed roller 21 not at the same time butwith a time lag, i.e., even in a case in which the informationdiscriminating portions 69 a and 69 b are disposed in a zigzag in thelongitudinal direction of the band-shaped sheet member 16 every otherinformation discriminating portion, the excessive pressing force exertedon the information discriminating portions 69 a or on the informationdiscriminating portions 69 b can be appropriately absorbed by this tapefeed roller 18. Even in a case in which the band-shaped sheet member 16is replaced with another band-shaped sheet member 16 differing in thewidthwise position where the information discriminating portion 69 isembedded, the tape feed roller 18 does not need to be replaced withanother if the tape feed roller 18 has a concave part corresponding tothe position of an information discriminating portion 69 of the otherband-shaped sheet member 16, and the job time is reduced.

Additionally, if the information discriminating portion 69 faces only aspecific part of the periphery of the tape feed roller 18 when theinformation discriminating portion 69 passes between the tape feedroller 18 and the feed roller 21, there is no need to form the concaveparts 18 a and 18 b on the entire periphery of the tape feed roller 18.However, an excessive pressing force exerted on the informationdiscriminating portions 69 can be appropriately absorbed by forming theconcave parts 18 a and 18 b on the entire periphery of the tape feedroller 18 even when a deviation in-the conveyance of the band-shapedsheet member 16 occurs or even when intervals with which the informationdiscriminating portions 69 are arranged in the longitudinal direction ofthe band-shaped sheet member 16 are not fixed. Preferably, the number ofrows of information discriminating portions 69 arranged in thelongitudinal direction of the band-shaped sheet member 16 is two ormore, without being limited to two.

Eighth Embodiment

Referring now to FIG. 22, a tape feed roller 80 that is a carrier rolleraccording to another embodiment will be described.

In FIG. 22, a first concave part 80 a is formed at a position of thetape feed roller 80 facing the RFID antenna conductors 63 that occupythe center in the width direction of the band-shaped sheet member 16 andthat are arranged in the longitudinal direction thereof (see FIG. 23) bypartially making the diameter of the tape feed roller 80 smaller,whereas a second concave part 80 b greater in depth than the firstconcave part 80 a is formed at a position of the tape feed roller 80facing the RFID chips 64 by partially making the diameter of the tapefeed roller 80 even smaller. In other words, two concave parts 80 aseparated from each other in the width direction of the band-shapedsheet member 16, i.e., in the axial direction of the tape feed roller 80are formed in the tape feed roller 80. A two-step concave part is formedin accordance with the cross-sectional shape of the informationdiscriminating portion 69 (i.e., the shape of a cross sectionperpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the band-shaped sheetmember 16) by forming a concave part 80 b, which is greater in theamount of a hollow (i.e., in depth) than the concave part 80 a and whichcommunicates with to the concave part 80 a, between the two concaveparts 80 a. It is obvious that these two concave parts 80 a and 80 b areincluded in the scope of a plurality of concave parts of the presentinvention. Alternatively, a two-step concave part is formed inaccordance with the cross-sectional shape of the informationdiscriminating portion 69 (i.e., the shape of a cross sectionperpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the band-shaped sheetmember 16) by forming a concave part 80 a in the tape feed roller 80 andby forming a concave part 80 b communicating with the circumferentialsurface serving as the bottom of the concave part 80 a so as to becomegreater in the amount of a hollow (i.e., in depth) than the concave part80 a in the middle of the concave part 80 a. Likewise, it is obviousthat these two concave parts 80 a and 80 b are included in the scope ofa plurality of concave parts of the present invention.

In many cases, in the information discriminating portion 69, the RFIDchip 64 is thicker than the RFID antenna conductor 63, and the RFID chip64 is more protruded toward the tape feed roller 80 than the RFIDantenna conductor 63, and, accordingly, the concave part 80 b is formedso as to be greater in the amount of a hollow (i.e., in depth) than theconcave part 80 a. Therefore, even if the RFID chip 64 is surroundedwith the RFID antenna conductor 63 that is not more protruded toward thetape feed roller 80 than the RFID chip 64 or even if the RFID chip 64 isdisposed on the surface of the tape feed roller 80 in the RFID antennaconductor 63, an excessive pressing force is never exerted on the RFIDantenna conductor 63, and the excessive pressing force against theinformation discriminating portion 69 can be absorbed, because theamount of the hollow of the concave part 80 b is greater than that ofthe concave part 80 a.

Since the concave parts 80 a and 80 b depend on the cross sectionperpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the band-shaped sheetmember 16, the concave parts 80 a between which the concave part 80 b isformed do not need to be equal to each other in the amount of a hollow,for example, if the thickness of the RFID antenna conductor 63 is notuniform. Additionally, since the hollowed part is structured as atwo-step concave part without making the concave parts 80 a and 80 buniform in the amount of a hollow, an extra space can be removed byforming an appropriate gap between the information discriminatingportion 69 and the roller surface so as not to exert a pressing force onthe information discriminating portion 69 as the amount of a hollowmatched to the RFID chip 64 or to the RFID antenna conductor 63.Additionally, the laminate tape 11 and the band-shaped sheet member 16can be excellently conveyed by appropriately sticking the laminate tape11 and the band-shaped sheet member 16 together or by increasing acontact area between the information discriminating portion 69 and theroller surface without forming an extra gap therebetween so as to exertsuch a certain degree of pressing force as not to destroy or degrade theinformation discriminating portion 69. The number of steps can be set atthree or more. The amount of the hollow of the concave parts 80 a and 80b may be determined so that the roller surface comes into contact withone of the RFID chip 64 and the RFID antenna conductor 63 but does notcome into contact with the other one.

According to this embodiment, an excessive pressing force exerted on theinformation discriminating portion 69 embedded in the band-shaped sheetmember 16 can be absorbed in the same way as in the tape feed roller 18,and identification data used as pieces of information can be reliablyprevented from being lost by a deterioration in the RFID chip 64resulting from the excessive pressing force against the RFID chip 64, orthe information discriminating portion 69 can be reliably prevented frombeing destroyed.

In this embodiment, a description has been given of a structure in whichthe tape feed rollers 18 and 80 have the plurality of concave parts 18 aand 18 b or the concave parts 80 a and 80 b differing in depth. However,the same effect can be obtained even by providing an elastic portionmade of a cushion, such as a soft sponge, that is elastically deformedby the information discriminating portion 69, instead of the concaveparts 18 a and 18 b.

Alternatively, it is permissible to form the concave parts 18 a, 18 b,80 a, and 80 b and dispose a cushion inside each of the concave parts 18a, 18 b, 80 a, and 80 b.

In the embodiment and the modifications, a description has been given ofa structure in which the tape feed rollers 18 and 80 have the pressureabsorbing means (the concave parts or the elastic portion). However, theloss of identification data stored in the information discriminatingportion 69 can be effectively prevented, and the destruction of theinformation discriminating portion can be effectively prevented even byemploying a structure in which the feed roller 21, which holds theband-shaped sheet member 16 having the information discriminatingportion 69 together with the tape feed roller 18 or 80 in a sandwichedmanner, is provided with the same pressure absorbing means (the concaveparts or the elastic portion) as above.

In the concave parts 18 a, 18 b, 80 a, and 80 b, the cross sectionperpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the band-shaped sheetmember 16 is shaped like a rectangle or is shaped by straight linesperpendicular to each other, e.g., by combining rectangles together orturning the convexity upside down. Without being limited to this, thecross section may be shaped by curves or straight lines that intersecteach other at an acute angle. For example, the shape of the crosssection of the hollowed part maybe a triangle, a trapezoid, asemicircle, or a semi-ellipse. Additionally, sets of two-step concaveparts 80 a and 80 b shown in FIG. 22 may be formed in the single tapefeed roller 18 with a gap between the sets in the width direction of theband-shaped sheet member 16 as shown in FIG. 21.

Since the RFID label has its maximum thickness when the RFID label isoutwardly discharged after completing the production thereof, the pairof rollers consisting of the carrier roller and the feed roller aredisposed at a discharge portion from which the RFID label is outwardlydischarged. Therefore, the effect by which the deterioration ordestruction of the information discriminating portion 69 is preventedcan be more greatly heightened.

In the above embodiment, a description has been given of a structure inwhich the band-shaped sheet member 16 having the informationdiscriminating portion 69 is stuck onto the laminate tape 11 on which animage has been formed. However, instead of this structure, a possiblestructure can be proposed to form an image directly on the band-shapedsheet member 16 having the information discriminating portion 69 by athermal printing mechanism PM serving as an image forming means.According to this structure, the band-shaped sheet member 16 having theinformation discriminating portion 69 is an object on which an image isformed, and the band-shaped sheet member 16 is pressed against thethermal head 19 by means of the platen 20 facing the thermal head 19.The same applies to a case in which an image is printed on the surfaceof the band-shaped sheet member 16 after sticking the band-shaped sheetmember 16 and the laminate tape 11 together. Even when an image isformed on the band-shaped sheet member 16 having the informationdiscriminating portion 69, an excessive pressing force exerted on theinformation discriminating portion 69 can be absorbed by forming concaveparts in the platen 20 in the same way as in the tape feed rollers 18and 80 or by providing the platen 20 with an elastic body that iselastically deformed by the information discriminating portion 69.Therefore, the loss of identification data stored in the informationdiscriminating portion 69 can be effectively prevented, and thedestruction of the information discriminating portion can be effectivelyprevented.

Additionally, in the above embodiment, a description has been given ofthe RFID element where identification data is stored. However, as amatter of course, the present invention can be applied to anidentification data writing device that has the read/write device V (seeFIG. 3) for reading and writing identification data.

Although the band-shaped sheet member 16 is a single, long, continuoussurface, the band-shaped sheet member 16 may be formed by placing arectangular sheet member, such as that shown by the broken line in FIG.23, on a separation sheet and sticking this onto the laminate tape 11.

Any one of an electrostatic coupling method, an electromagnetic couplingmethod, an electromagnetic induction method, a microwave method, and aUHF method can be employed as the RFID transmission system. The presentinvention can, of course, be embodied in various aspects in the scopenot departing from the characteristics of the present invention. Forexample, if a guide roller by which the band-shaped sheet member 16 isbent is provided, the band-shaped sheet member 16 is pressed against theguide roller by its tension. However, as in the above example, thedeterioration or destruction of the information discriminating portion69 can be prevented by forming at least one of the concave parts 18 a,18 b, 80 a, and 80 b in the guide roller.

According to a possible way, an image is formed on the laminate tape 11or on the band-shaped sheet member 16 by means of an ink jet head thatforms an image while discharging ink, instead of the thermal head 19. Atthis time, if at least one of the concave parts 18 a, 18 b, 80 a, and 80b mentioned above is formed in the platen 20, the laminate tape 11 orthe band-shaped sheet member 16 is brought into contact with the platen20, and a position corresponding to the ink jet head is fixed. Even ifthe laminate tape 11 or the band-shaped sheet member 16 is partiallyprotruded by the information discriminating portion 69 at this time, apart of the protrusion enters the concave parts 18 a, 18 b, 80 a, and 80b. Therefore, the inkjet head never excessively approaches the imageformation surface of the laminate tape 11 or the band-shaped sheetmember 16.

Ninth Embodiment

FIG. 24 is a system configuration view showing a RFID tag manufacturingsystem including a tag-label producing device for producing a RFID labelaccording to this embodiment.

In the RFID tag manufacturing system 301 of FIG. 24, the tag-labelproducing device 302 is connected through a wire or wirelesscommunication line 303 to a route server 304, a terminal 305, a generalpurpose computer 306, and a plurality of information servers 307.

FIG. 25 is a conceptual schematic view showing a detailed structure ofthe tag-label producing device of the tag-label producing device 302.

In FIG. 25, a cartridge holding portion (not shown) formed as a concavepart is mounted in a main body 308 of the tag-label producing device302. A cartridge (RFID circuit element cartridge) 400 is detachablyattached to the holding portion.

The main body 308 includes a housing 309 that has the cartridge holdingportion to which the cartridge 400 is fitted and that forms an outerframe, a print head (thermal head) 310 that applies predetermined marksor characters onto a cover film (to-be-printed tape) 403, aribbon-take-up-roller drive shaft 311 that drives an ink ribbon 405 thathas finished printing onto the cover film 403, a tape-feed-roller driveshaft 312 that sends out the cover film (to-be-printed tape) 403 and aband-shaped tag tape 401 from the cartridge 400 while sticking the coverfilm 403 and the band-shaped tag tape 401 together as a tag-label tape410 for a tag label on which an image has been printed, an antenna 314for exchanging signals with a RFID circuit element To (described later)included in the tag-label tape 410 on a high frequency, such as a UHFwave, by radio communication, a cutter 315 that cuts the tag-label tape410 into tapes, each of which has a predetermined length, at apredetermined timing and produces label-shaped RFID labels T (describedlater), a pair of conveyance guides 313 for setting and holding the RFIDcircuit element To in a predetermined access area that faces the antenna314 when signals are exchanged by the radio communication and guidingeach RFID label T cut by the cutter 315, a sending roller 317 thatconveys the RFID label T guided by the guides 313 to a carry-out exit(outlet) 316 and sends the RFID label T therefrom, and a dischargesensor 318 that detects whether the RFID label T is present or absent atthe carry-out exit 316.

The discharge sensor 318 is, for example, a reflection typephotoelectric sensor consisting of a light emitter and a light receiver.If the RFID label T is not present between the light emitter and thelight receiver, light emitted from the light emitter is input to thelight receiver. On the other hand, if the RFID label T is presentbetween the light emitter and the light receiver, light emitted from thelight emitter is blocked, and a control output from the light receiveris reversed.

The main body 308 further includes a high frequency circuit 321 foraccessing (i.e., reading from or writing onto) the RFID circuit elementTo via the antenna 314, a signal processing circuit 322 for processing asignal read from the RFID circuit element To, a cartridge motor 323 thatdrives the ribbon-take-up-roller drive shaft 311 and thetape-feed-roller drive shaft 312, a cartridge drive circuit 324 thatcontrols the driving of the cartridge motor 323, a print drive circuit325 that controls the energization of the print head 310, a solenoid 326that drives the cutter 315 so that the cutter 315 can perform a cuttingoperation, a solenoid drive circuit 327 that controls the solenoid 326,a sending-roller motor 328 that drives the sending roller 317, asending-roller drive circuit 329 that controls the sending-roller motor328, a control circuit 330 that controls the whole operation of thetag-label producing device 302 through the high frequency circuit 321,the signal processing circuit 322, the cartridge drive circuit 324, theprint drive circuit 325, the solenoid drive circuit 327, thesending-roller drive circuit 329, etc.

The control circuit 330, a detailed drawing of which is omitted here, isa so-called microcomputer that is made up of a CPU (central processingunit), a ROM, a RAM, etc. The control circuit 330 performs signalprocessing in accordance with a program prestored in the ROM while usingthe temporary memory function of the RAM. The control circuit 330 isconnected to, for example, the communication line 303 through aninput-output interface 331, and can exchange information with the routeserver 304, the terminal 305, the general purpose computer 306, and theinformation server 307 that are connected to the communication line 303.

FIG. 26 is an explanatory drawing for explaining a detailed structure ofthe cartridge 400 mounted in the tag-label producing device 302.

In FIG. 26, the cartridge 400 includes a first roll (tag tape roll) 402on which the tag tape 401 is wound, a second roll (to-be-printed taperoll) 404 on which the cover film 403, which has substantially the samewidth as the tag tape 401 and which is optically transmissible(transparent or semitransparent), is wound, a ribbon-supply-side roll411 that sends out the ink ribbon 405 (thermal transfer ribbon, whichbecomes unnecessary if the cover film 403 is a thermally-sensitivetape), the ribbon take-up roller 406 that takes up the ink ribbon 405that has finished printing, and a compression roller 407 that compressesand sticks the tag tape 401 and the cover film 403 together so as toproduce the tag-label tape 410 and sends the produced tape in thedirection of arrow A.

The first roll 402 has the tag tape 401 wound on a reel member 402 a. Onthe tag tape 401, the RFID circuit elements To are continuously andserially arranged with predetermined equal intervals in the longitudinaldirection of the tag tape 401.

The tag tape 401 has a five-layer structure in this example (see apartially enlarged view of the tag tape 401 shown in FIG. 26). As shownin the partially enlarged view of the tag tape 401, the tag tape 401 isstructured by an adhesive layer (gluing adhesive layer) 401 a that has aproper color and an adhesive properly selected so that desired adhesivecharacteristics can be obtained, a colored base film (tag tape baselayer) 401 b that is made of, for example, PET (polyethyleneterephthalate), an adhesive layer (fixing adhesive layer) 401 e that hasan adhesive properly selected so that desired adhesive characteristicscan be obtained, an adhesive layer (affixing adhesive layer) 401 c thathas an adhesive properly selected so that desired adhesivecharacteristics can be obtained, and a separation sheet (separationmaterial layer) 401 d, which are stacked together in this order from aside (i.e., from the right side in FIG. 26) where the tag tape 401 isinwardly wound toward an opposite side (i.e., toward the left side inFIG. 26).

The adhesive layer 401 a used to later stick the cover film 403 isplaced on the front side (right side in FIG. 26) of the base film 401 b.The adhesive layer 401 e is placed on the reverse side (left side inFIG. 26) of the base film 401 b. The RFID circuit element To, whichconsists of an IC circuit part 451 that stores information and anantenna (tag side antenna) 452 that is connected to the IC circuit part451 and that transfers and receives the information, is stack and fixedto the base film 401 b by the adhesive layer 401 e.

The adhesive layer 401 c used to stick the separation sheet 401 d to thebase film 401 b is placed on the reverse side (left side in FIG. 26) ofthe adhesive layer 401 e in such a way that the adhesive layer 401 cwraps the RFID circuit element To. The adhesive layer 401 c and theadhesive layer 401 e are firmly stuck together, so that the adhesivelayers 401 c and 401 e reach a state of being fastened substantially asone united body when the tag tape 401 is produced. When the RFID label Tfinally formed as a complete label is stuck onto, for example, apredetermined article, the separation sheet 401 d is separated from themain side of the tag tape (i.e., from the adhesive layer 401 c), and theRFID label T is stuck and affixed to the article by the adhesive layer401 c.

As mentioned above, the adhesive layer 401 c is placed on the wholesurface of the reverse side of the adhesive layer 401 e in such a waythat the adhesive layer 401 c wraps the RFID circuit element To.However, without being limited to this, the adhesive layer 401 b may beplaced at a position other than the position of the RFID circuit elementTo disposed on the reverse side of the adhesive layer 401 e. Likewise,the adhesive layer 401 c may be placed at a position other than theposition of the RFID circuit element To disposed thereon.Advantageously, in these cases, the tag tape 401 or the RFID label Tcompletely produced can be made thinner.

The second roll 404 has the cover film 403 wound on a reel member 404 a.The ink ribbon 405, which is driven by the ribbon take-up roller 406 andthe ribbon-supply-side roll 411 disposed on the side of the back surfaceof the cover film 403 (i.e., the side where the cover film 403 is stuckonto the tag tape 401), is pressed by the print head 310, and is broughtinto contact with the back surface of the cover film 403.

The ribbon take-up roller 406 and the compression roller 407 arerotationally driven by transmitting the driving force of the cartridgemotor 323 (see FIG. 25), such as a pulse motor, disposed outside thecartridge 400 to the ribbon-take-up-roller drive shaft 311 and thetape-feed-roller drive shaft 312, respectively.

In the cartridge 400 structured as described above, the tag tape 401 isdrawn out from the first roll 402, and is fed to the compression roller407. On the other hand, the cover film 403 is drawn out from the secondroll 404, and the back surface of the cover film 403 comes into contactwith the ink ribbon 405 as described above.

When the cartridge 400 is attached to the cartridge holding portion ofthe main body 308, and a roll holder (not shown) is moved from aseparate position to a contact position, the cover film 403 and the inkribbon 405 are sandwiched between the print head 310 and a platen roller408, whereas the tag tape 401 and the cover film 403 are sandwichedbetween the compression roller 407 and a sub-roller 409. The ribbontake-up roller 406 and the compression roller 407 are synchronouslydriven and rotated by the driving force of the cartridge motor 323 inthe direction of arrow B and in the direction of arrow C, respectively.At this time, since the tape-feed-roller drive shaft 312, the sub-roller409, and the platen roller 408 are connected together by gears (notshown), the compression roller 407, the sub-roller 409, and the platenroller 408 are rotated in accordance with the driving of thetape-feed-roller drive shaft 312, and the five-layer tag tape 401 isdrawn out from the first roll 402, and is fed to the compression roller407 as described above. On the other hand, the cover film 403 is drawnout from the second roll 404, and a plurality of heater elements of theprint head 310 are energized by the print drive circuit 325. As aresult, predetermined print characters R, such as letters, marks, or barcodes (see FIG. 30 described later), are printed on the back surface ofthe cover film 403 (i.e., on the surface on the side of the adhesivelayer 401 a). (Note that, since printing is performed from the backsurface of the cover film, mirror-symmetrical characters or the like(when viewed from the printing side) are printed.) The five-layer tagtape 401 and the cover film 403 on which characters have been printedare then stuck together and are united into the tag-label tape 410 bythe compression roller 407 and the sub-roller 409, thus carrying thetag-label tape 410 out of the cartridge 400. The ink ribbon 405 that hasfinished printing onto the cover film 403 is taken up on the ribbontake-up roller 406 by the driving of the ribbon-take-up-roller driveshaft 311.

FIG. 27 is a functional block diagram showing a detailed function of thehigh frequency circuit 321. In FIG. 27, the high frequency circuit 321is made up of a sending portion 332 that sends a signal to the RFIDcircuit element To via the antenna 314, a receiving portion 333 thatinputs a reflected wave from the RFID circuit element To received by theantenna 314, and a send-receive splitter 334.

The sending portion 332 includes a crystal oscillator 335 that generatesa carrier wave to access the RFID tag information of the IC circuit part451 of the RFID circuit element To (i.e., to read information therefromor write information thereonto), a PLL (Phase Locked Loop) 336, a VCO(Voltage Controlled Oscillator) 337, a transmission multiplying circuit338 that modulates the generated carrier wave based on a signal suppliedfrom the signal processing circuit 322 (in this embodiment, atransmission multiplying circuit that performs amplitude modulationbased on a “TX_ASK” signal sent from the signal processing circuit 322;note that, for example, an amplification-factor variable amplifier maybe used in amplitude modulation), and a transmission amplifier 339 thatamplifies a wave modulated by the transmission multiplying circuit 338.Preferably, a frequency in a UHF band is used as the generated carrierwave. The output of the transmission amplifier 339 is transmitted to theantenna 314 through the send-receive splitter 334, and is supplied tothe IC circuit part 451 of the RFID circuit element To.

The receiving portion 333 includes a first reception multiplying circuit340 that multiplies the reflected wave from the RFID circuit element Toreceived by the antenna 314 and the generated carrier wave together, afirst band-pass filter 341 used to extract only a signal of a necessaryband from the output of the first reception multiplying circuit 340, afirst reception amplifier 343 that amplifies the output of the firstband-pass filter 341 and supplies the amplified output to a firstlimiter 342, a second reception multiplying circuit 344 that multipliesthe reflected wave from the RFID circuit element To received by theantenna 314 and a carrier wave whose phase has been delayed by 90° afterthe wave has been generated together, a second band-pass filter 345 usedto extract only a signal of a necessary band from the output of thesecond reception multiplying circuit 344, and a second receptionamplifier 347 that inputs and amplifies the output of the secondband-pass filter 345 and supplies the amplified output to the secondlimiter 346. A signal “RXS-I” output from the first limiter 342 and asignal “RXS-Q” output from the second limiter 346 are input into andprocessed by the signal processing circuit 322.

The output of the first reception amplifier 343 and the output of thesecond reception amplifier 347 are also input into an RSSI (ReceivedSign Strength Indicator) circuit 348, and a signal “RSSI” that indicatesthe strength of these signals is input into the signal processingcircuit 322. In the tag-label producing device 302 according to thisembodiment, the reflected wave from the RFID circuit element To isdemodulated by I-Q orthogonal demodulation in this way.

FIG. 28 is a functional block diagram showing a functional structure ofthe RFID circuit element To provided in the characters-printed tag tape410.

In FIG. 28, the RFID circuit element To includes the antenna (tag-sideantenna) 452, which sends and receives a signal in a non-contact mannerusing the antenna 314 disposed on the side of the tag-label producingdevice 302 and a high frequency such as that of the UHF band, and the ICcircuit part 451 connected to the antenna 452.

The IC circuit part 451 includes a rectification part 453 that rectifiesthe carrier wave received by the antenna 452, a power source part 454used as a power source for driving the IC circuit part 451 by storingthe energy of the carrier wave rectified by the rectification part 453,a clock extraction part 456 that extracts a clock signal from thecarrier wave received by the antenna 452 and supplies this signal to acontrol unit 455, a memory part 457 that functions as an informationstorage means that can store a predetermined information signal, a modempart 458 connected to the antenna 452, and the control unit 455 thatcontrols the operation of the RFID circuit element To through therectification part 453, the clock extraction part 456, the modem part458, etc.

The modem part 458 demodulates a wireless communication signal from theantenna 314 of the tag-label producing device 302 received by theantenna 452, and, based on a reply signal from the control unit 455,modulates and reflects the carrier wave received by the antenna 452.

The control unit 455 interprets a reception signal demodulated by themodem part 458, and generates a reply signal based on the informationsignal stored in the memory part 457, and performs a basic controloperation such as a control operation of giving a reply by the modempart 458.

FIG. 29 shows an example of a screen displayed on the terminal 305 or onthe general purpose computer 306 when the tag-label producing device 302accesses the RFID tag information of the IC circuit part 451 of the RFIDcircuit element To (i.e., when the device reads information therefrom orwrites information thereonto).

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 29, the kind of the tag label(access frequency and tape size), print characters R printed inaccordance with the RFID circuit element To, an access ID that is an IDpeculiar to the RFID circuit element To, an address of articleinformation stored in the information server 307, an address at whichcorresponding information in the route server 304 is stored, etc., canbe displayed on the terminal 305 or on the general purpose computer 306.The tag-label producing device 302 is actuated by the operation of theterminal 305 or the general purpose computer 306, so that the printcharacters R are printed on the cover film 403, and RFID taginformation, such as corresponding article information, is written ontothe IC circuit part 451 (or is read from the IC circuit part 451).

The most noticeable feature of this embodiment resides in the fact that,as described above, three adhesive layers are provided to produce a RFIDlabel T by allowing a label having a layered structure to include a RFIDcircuit element. The details of this will be hereinafter described.

FIG. 30A and FIG. 30B show an example of the external appearance of theRFID label T produced by reading information from the RFID circuitelement To (or writing information thereonto) and finishing cutting thetag-label tape 410 on which characters have been printed in the same wayas above. FIG. 30A is a top view, and FIG. 30B is a bottom view. FIG. 31is a cross-sectional view along line VIII-VIII′ of FIG. 30A.

In FIG. 30A, FIG. 30B, and FIG. 31, the RFID label T has a six-layerstructure formed by adding the cover film 403 to the five-layerstructure of FIG. 26. The RFID label T includes, from the side of thecover film 403 (i.e., upper side in FIG. 31) toward the opposite side(i.e., lower side in FIG. 31), the cover film (to-be-printed tape layer)403, the adhesive layer (gluing adhesive layer) 401 a, the base film(tag tape base layer) 401 b, the adhesive layer (fixing adhesive layer)401 e, the adhesive layer (affixing adhesive layer) 401 c, and theseparation sheet (separation material layer) 401 d. As described above,the RFID circuit element To including the antenna 452 is enclosedbetween the adhesive layer 401 e and the adhesive layer 401 c, and printcharacters R (in this embodiment, the letters “RF-ID” that indicate thekind of the RFID label T) are printed on the back side of the cover film403.

In this embodiment thus formed, the tape is drawn out from the cartridge400 of the tag-label producing device 302 in the form of a tag-labeltape 410 on which characters have been printed, and the RFID circuitelements To set and held at a predetermined position (access area)facing the antenna 314 by the conveyance guide 313 are sequentiallyaccessed (i.e., RFID tag information is read from the IC circuit part451 or is written onto the IC circuit part 451). The tag-label tape 410is cut for each RFID circuit element To by use of the cutter 315 intoRFID labels T. With the adhesive layer 401 c exposed by allowing a userto peel the separation sheet 401 d off, the thus produced RFID labels Tare stuck onto various objects, such as articles of commerce, forpractical use.

According to this embodiment, the following effects can be achieved bythe thus formed tag tape 401, the first roll 402 having this tag tape401, and the RFID label T produced by use of the tag tape 401. Indetail, in this embodiment, the fixing adhesive layer 401 e by which theRFID circuit element To is fixed to the base film 401 b is newlyprovided besides the gluing adhesive layer 401 a by which the cover film403 and the base film 401 b are glued together and the affixing adhesivelayer 401 c with which the separation sheet 401 d is covered (in otherwords, at least three adhesive layers are provided). As a result, theadhesive force of the gluing adhesive layer 401 a or that of theaffixing adhesive layer 401 c is never impaired, and the entirethickness of the gluing adhesive layer 401 a or that of the affixingadhesive layer 401 c performs a shock absorbing function when a pressingforce is applied. Therefore, the RFID circuit element To can beprevented from being damaged. Additionally, since the fixing adhesivelayer 401 e is disposed closer to the separation sheet 401 d (i.e., tothe reverse side of the tag label) than the base film 401 b, the RFIDcircuit element To cannot be seen from the side of the label surface bythe base film 401 b serving as a blindfold, and hence the RFID circuitelement To can avoid baring its external appearance.

In particular, in this embodiment, as described above, the gluingadhesive layer 401 a, the fixing adhesive layer 401 e, and the affixingadhesive layer 401 c are properly selected to obtain desired adhesivecharacteristics. In more detail, for example, the gluing adhesive layer401 a selectively uses a proper adhesive agent having adhesivecharacteristics suitable for this adhesive layer in consideration ofadhesive properties with respect to the cover tape 403 and the base film401 b. The fixing adhesive layer 401 e selectively uses a properadhesive agent having adhesive characteristics suitable for thisadhesive layer in consideration of adhesive properties with respect tothe base film 401 b, the RFID circuit element To, and the affixingadhesive layer 401 c. The affixing adhesive layer 401 c selectively usesa proper adhesive agent having adhesive characteristics suitable forthis adhesive layer in consideration of adhesive properties with respectto the RFID circuit element To, the fixing adhesive layer 401 e, and anobject (label-stuck body) onto which a label is affixed. (From anotherpoint of view, at least two of the gluing adhesive layer 401 a, thefixing adhesive layer 401 e, and the affixing adhesive layer 401 c areformed to differ in adhesive characteristics from each other.) As aresult, a proper adhesive agent having adhesive characteristics suitablefor each adhesive layer can be individually used, and each tag tape oreach label can be improved in quality. Concrete examples of theseadhesive characteristics will be hereinafter described.

(A) General-Purpose Tape and Label

For example, an adhesive agent is selected so that the gluing adhesivelayer 401 a, the fixing adhesive layer 401 e, and the affixing adhesivelayer 401 c have substantially the same adhesive force. As a result,(e.g., as a result of allowing these layers to have the same adhesiveagent), it becomes possible to realize low-cost, general-purpose tagtapes and labels in which all adhesive layers have substantially thesame structure and substantially the same adhesive properties.

(B) Re-Separation Tape and Label

For example, an adhesive agent is selected so that the affixing adhesivelayer 401 c becomes weaker in adhesive force than the other adhesivelayers 401 a and 401 e (alternatively, at least the adhesive layer 401 cuses a weak-adhesive-type adhesive agent). As a result, it is possibleto produce reusable labels capable of being re-peeled off without beingbroken after having once been stuck.

(C) Strong Adhesive Tape and Label

For example, an adhesive agent is selected so that the affixing adhesivelayer 401 c becomes stronger in adhesive force than the other adhesivelayers 401 a and 401 e (alternatively, at least the adhesive layer 401 cuses a strong-adhesive-type adhesive agent). As a result, it becomespossible to produce affixing labels that are not easily peeled off afterhaving once been stuck, i.e., affixing labels that have the property ofbeing broken when peeled off.

(D) Security Tape and Label

For example, an adhesive agent is selected so that the gluing adhesivelayer 401 a becomes weaker in cohesive force (which denotes strengthobtained after being hardened) than the other adhesive layers 401 c and401 e (alternatively, an adhesive agent is selected so that the fixingadhesive layer 401 e becomes weaker in cohesive force than the otheradhesive layers 401 a and 401 c). As a result, when a produced RFIDlabel T receives a force in a direction in which the label is peeledoff, the gluing adhesive layer 401 a weaker in cohesive force (or thefixing adhesive layer 401 e) spontaneously separates and breaks intopieces, and hence the remaining parts other than this layer, inparticular, the RFID circuit element To, can be prevented from beingdestroyed. Therefore, it becomes possible to realize security tapes andlabels capable of keeping internal information stored in the IC circuitpart 451 of the RFID circuit element To.

(E) Curved-Surface-Stuck Tape and Label

For example, an adhesive agent is selected so that the gluing adhesivelayer 401 a, the fixing adhesive layer 401 e, and the affixing adhesivelayer 401 c have a higher anti-resilience than usual. As a result, theRFID label T can maintain its adhesiveness even when the RFID label T iscurved or bent, and hence the RFID label T can be stuck onto a curvedsurface.

(F) High Heat-Resistant Tape and Label

For example, an adhesive agent is selected so that the gluing adhesivelayer 401 a (or all adhesive layers 401 a, 401 c, and 401 e includingthis) has a higher heat resistance than usual. As a result, it becomespossible to produce high heat-resistant tapes and labels.

(G) High Light-Resistant Tape and Label

For example, an adhesive agent is selected so that the gluing adhesivelayer 401 a (or all adhesive layers 401 a, 401 c, and 401 e includingthis) has a higher light resistance than usual. As a result, it becomespossible to produce high light-resistant tapes and labels.

(H) Flag-Like Adhesive Tape and Label

For example, an adhesive agent is selected so that the affixing adhesivelayer 401 c has a higher self-adhesiveness than usual. As a result, thewhole or part of the RFID label T can be bent like a flag, so that bothends of the label can be strongly stuck together. Therefore, the labelcan be affixed like a flag for practical use.

The present invention is not limited to the foregoing embodiment, andcan be variously altered or modified within the scope not departing fromthe gist and the technical concept of the present invention. Variousmodifications will be hereinafter described.

(1) Case in which the Label is Fastened to an Object by a Means Otherthan the Affixing Adhesive Agent

FIG. 32 is a cross-sectional view showing a modification, correspondingto FIG. 31.

As shown in FIG. 32, in this RFID label T, an attracting magnetic layer500 is provided instead of the separation sheet 401 d of FIG. 31, and,instead of the affixing adhesive layer 401 c, an adhesive layer(attaching adhesive layer) 401 h used to attach the magnetic layer 500to the fixing adhesive layer 401 e is disposed between the magneticlayer 500 and the fixing adhesive layer 401 e. Accordingly, the producedRFID label T can be fastened to a specified object with the magneticlayer 500 therebetween, and can be removed therefrom.

Without being limited to the magnetic layer 500, a detachable element,such as an adherable-peelable tape, a sucker, or a button, can beprovided. The detachable element may be attached to the fixing adhesivelayer 401 e by the attaching adhesive layer 401 h. The same effect canbe obtained in this case.

(2) Case in which an Intermediate Tape Layer is Provided

FIG. 33 is a cross-sectional view showing this modification,corresponding to FIG. 31.

As shown in FIG. 33, in this RFID label T, an intermediate base film(intermediate tag tape base layer) 401 g is disposed between the basefilm 401 b and the separation sheet 401 d (in more detail, between thefixing adhesive layer 401 e and the affixing adhesive layer 401 c).Further, an intermediate adhesive layer (intermediate layer whichcosists of an adhesive agent) 401 f is disposed between the intermediatebase film 401 g and the fixing adhesive layer 401 e. The intermediatebase film 401 g is made of, for example, the same material as the basefilm 401 b. The intermediate adhesive layer 401 f is stuck onto thefixing adhesive layer 401 e in such a manner as to contain the RFIDcircuit element To. The affixing adhesive layer 401 c is stuck onto thereverse side (lower side in FIG. 33) of the intermediate base film 401g.

In the structure shown in FIG. 33, the three-layer structure consistingof the gluing adhesive layer 401 a, the base film 401 b, and the fixingadhesive layer 401 e is an adhesive-film-adhesive structure. Likewise,the three-layer structure consisting of the intermediate adhesive layer401 f, the intermediate base film 401 g, and the affixing adhesive layer401 c is an adhesive-film-adhesive structure. Therefore, if the materialcan be shared therebetween, the same combination can be used, and thelayers can be replaced for an arrangement.

According to this modification, the same effect as in the foregoingembodiment can be obtained. In detail, the fixing adhesive layer 401 eand the intermediate adhesive layer 401 f are newly provided besides thegluing adhesive layer 401 a and the affixing adhesive layer 401 c (inother words, at least four adhesive layers are provided) As a result,the adhesive force of the gluing adhesive layer 401 a or that of theaffixing adhesive layer 401 c is never impaired, and the entirethickness of the gluing adhesive layer 401 a or that of the affixingadhesive layer 401 c performs a shock absorbing function when a pressingforce is applied. Therefore, the RFID circuit element To can beprevented from being damaged. Additionally, since the fixing adhesivelayer 401 e is disposed closer to the separation sheet 401 d (i.e., tothe reverse side of the tag label) than the base film 401 b, the RFIDcircuit element To cannot be seen from the side of the label surface bythe base film 401 b serving as a blindfold, and hence the RFID circuitelement To can avoid baring its external appearance.

As in the foregoing embodiment, in this modification, the gluingadhesive layer 401 a, the fixing adhesive layer 401 e, the affixingadhesive layer 401 c, and the intermediate adhesive layer 401 f areproperly selected to obtain desired adhesive characteristics. In moredetail, for example, the gluing adhesive layer 401 a selectively uses aproper adhesive agent having adhesive characteristics suitable for thisadhesive layer in consideration of adhesive properties with respect tothe cover tape 403 and the base film 401 b. The fixing adhesive layer401 e selectively uses a proper adhesive agent having adhesivecharacteristics suitable for this adhesive layer in consideration ofadhesive properties with respect to the base film 401 b, the RFIDcircuit element To, and the intermediate adhesive layer 401 f. Theintermediate adhesive layer 401 f selectively uses a proper adhesiveagent having adhesive characteristics suitable for this adhesive layerin consideration of adhesive properties with respect to the RFID circuitelement To, the fixing adhesive layer 401 e, and the intermediate basefilm 401 g. The affixing adhesive layer 401 c selectively uses a properadhesive agent having adhesive characteristics suitable for thisadhesive layer in consideration of adhesive properties with respect tothe intermediate base film 401 g and an object (label-stuck body) ontowhich a label is affixed. (From another point of view, at least two ofthe gluing adhesive layer 401 a, the fixing adhesive layer 401 e, theaffixing adhesive layer 401 c, and the intermediate adhesive layer 401 fare formed to differ in adhesive characteristics from each other.) As aresult, a proper adhesive agent having adhesive characteristics suitablefor each adhesive layer can be individually used, and each tag tape oreach label can be improved in quality. As in the foregoing embodiment,in this case, concrete examples of these adhesive characteristics willbe hereinafter described.

(A′) General-Purpose Tape and Label

For example, an adhesive agent is selected so that the gluing adhesivelayer 401 a, the fixing adhesive layer 401 e, the affixing adhesivelayer 401 c, and the intermediate adhesive layer 401 f havesubstantially the same adhesive force. As a result, (e.g., as a resultof allowing these layers to have the same adhesive agent), it becomespossible to realize low-cost, general-purpose (four-adhesive-layerstructure) tag tapes and labels in which all adhesive layers havesubstantially the same structure and substantially the same adhesiveproperties.

(B′) Re-Separation Tape and Label

For example, an adhesive agent is selected so that the affixing adhesivelayer 401 c becomes weaker in adhesive force than the other adhesivelayers 401 a, 401 e, and 401 f (alternatively, at least the adhesivelayer 401 c uses a weak-adhesive-type adhesive agent). As a result, itis possible to produce reusable labels capable of being re-peeled offwithout being broken after having once been stuck.

(C′) Strong Adhesive Tape and Label

For example, an adhesive agent is selected so that the affixing adhesivelayer 401 c becomes stronger in adhesive force than the other adhesivelayers 401 a, 401 e, and 401 f (alternatively, at least the adhesivelayer 401 c uses a strong-adhesive-type adhesive agent) As a result, itbecomes possible to produce affixing labels that are not easily peeledoff after having once been stuck, i.e., affixing labels that have theproperty of being broken when peeled off.

(D′) Security Tape and Label

For example, an adhesive agent is selected so that the gluing adhesivelayer 401 a becomes weaker in cohesive force (which denotes strengthobtained after being hardened) than the other adhesive layers 401 c, 401e, and 401 f (alternatively, an adhesive agent is selected so that thefixing adhesive layer 401 e becomes weaker in cohesive force than theother adhesive layers 401 a, 401 c, and 401 f, or, alternatively, anadhesive agent is selected so that the intermediate adhesive layer 401 fbecomes weaker in cohesive force than the other adhesive layers 401 a,401 c, and 401 e). As a result, when a produced RFID label T receives aforce in a direction in which the label is peeled off, the gluingadhesive layer 401 a weaker in cohesive force (or the fixing adhesivelayer 401 e, or the intermediate adhesive layer 401 f) spontaneouslyseparates and breaks into pieces, and hence the remaining parts otherthan this layer, in particular, the RFID circuit element To, can beprevented from being destroyed. Therefore, it becomes possible torealize security tapes and labels capable of keeping internalinformation stored in the IC circuit part 451 of the RFID circuitelement To.

(E′) Curved-Surface-Stuck Tape and Label

For example, an adhesive agent is selected so that the gluing adhesivelayer 401 a, the fixing adhesive layer 401 e, the affixing adhesivelayer 401 c, and the intermediate adhesive layer 401 f have a higheranti-resilience than usual. As a result, the RFID label T can maintainits adhesiveness even when the RFID label T is curved or bent, and hencethe RFID label T can be stuck onto a curved surface.

(F′) High Heat-Resistant Tape and Label

For example, an adhesive agent is selected so that the gluing adhesivelayer 401 a (or all adhesive layers 401 a, 401 c, 401 e, and 401 fincluding this) has a higher heat resistance than usual. As a result, itbecomes possible to produce high heat-resistant tapes and labels.

(G′) High Light-Resistant Tape and Label

For example, an adhesive agent is selected so that the gluing adhesivelayer 401 a (or all adhesive layers 401 a, 401 c, 401 e, and 401 fincluding this) has a higher light resistance than usual. As a result,it becomes possible to produce high light-resistant tapes and labels.

(H′) Flag-Like Adhesive Tape and Label

For example, an adhesive agent is selected so that the affixing adhesivelayer 401 c has a higher self-adhesiveness than usual. As a result, thewhole or part of the RFID label T can be bent like a flag, so that bothends of the label can be strongly stuck together. Therefore, the labelcan be affixed like a flag for practical use.

Further, in the tag tape and the RFID label having a layered structureincluding the intermediate base film 401 g and the intermediate adhesivelayer 401 f, the label may be fastened to a specified object by a meansother than an adhesive agent as described in the above item (1). FIG. 34is a cross-sectional view showing such a modification, corresponding toFIG. 33.

As shown in FIG. 34, in this RFID label T, an attracting magnetic layer(magnet) 500 is provided instead of the separation sheet 401 d of FIG.33. Further, instead of the affixing adhesive layer 401 c, an adhesivelayer (an attaching adhesive layer) 401 h used to attach the magneticlayer 500 to the intermediate base film, is disposed between themagnetic layer 500 and the intermediate base film 401 g. Accordingly,the produced RFID label T can be fastened to a specified object with themagnetic layer 500 therebetween, and can be removed therefrom.

Without being limited to the magnetic layer 500, a detachable element,such as an adherable-peelable tape, a sucker, or a button, can beprovided. The detachable element may be attached to the intermediatebase film 401 g by the attaching adhesive layer 401 h. The same effectcan be obtained in this case.

In the structure of FIG. 33, the two adhesive layers, i.e., the fixingadhesive layer 401 e and the intermediate adhesive layer 401 f areprovided between the base film 401 b and the intermediate base film 401g, and the RFID circuit element To is disposed so as to be sandwichedbetween these layers. However, the present invention is not limited tothis structure. For example, only the fixing adhesive layer 401 e may beused by omitting the intermediate adhesive layer 401 f from theseadhesive layers 401 e and 401 f as shown in FIG. 35 so that the RFIDcircuit element To is placed within the adhesive layer 401 e.Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 36, only the adhesive layer 401 f may beused by omitting the fixing adhesive layer 401 e from the adhesivelayers 401 e and 401 f so that the RFID circuit element To is placedwithin the adhesive layer 401 f. Advantageously, in this case, thethickness dimension of the label or that of the tag tape can be reducedin proportion to the removal of one adhesive layer.

Additionally, it is possible to propose another structure (a tag card CAincluding the RFID circuit element To) shown in FIG. 37 in which theseparation sheet 401 d and the affixing adhesive layer 401 c included inthe structure of FIG. 33 are removed (i.e., in which the intermediatebase film 401 g is used as an outermost layer). In this structure, thenumber of adhesive layers is three, i.e., the gluing adhesive layer 401a, the fixing adhesive layer 401 e, and the intermediate adhesive layer401 f. Also, in this structure, an effect similar to that in theforegoing embodiment or that in the modification can be obtained byproviding the three adhesive layers. In detail, the adhesive force ofthe gluing adhesive layer 401 a is never impaired, and the entirethickness of the gluing adhesive layer 401 a performs a shock absorbingfunction when a pressing force is applied during the production process.Therefore, the RFID circuit element To can be prevented from beingdamaged. Additionally, since the fixing adhesive layer 401 e is disposedcloser to the intermediate base film 401 g (i.e., to the reverse side ofthe card) than the base film 401 b, the RFID circuit element To cannotbe seen from the side of the card surface by the base film 401 b servingas a blindfold, and hence the RFID circuit element To can avoid baringits external appearance.

(3) Others

(a) Coloring by Adhesive Agent

In each structure described above, the gluing adhesive layer 401 a mayhave an adhesive agent colored in desired color. In this case, if thecover film 403, for example, is optically transmissible, the color ofthe adhesive agent is visually shown as the color of the tag tape and asthe color of the label without being changed. Therefore, a tag tape anda label having a more colorful color can be produced by coloring thegluing adhesive layer 401 a, and the RFID circuit element To disposed onthe reverse side can be reliably blinded from view. The fixing adhesivelayer 401 e may also be colored.

(b) Thickness of Adhesive Layer

In each structure described above, the minimum value of the thickness ofthe affixing adhesive layer 401 c may be prescribed. Preferably, in thiscase, the thickness of the affixing adhesive layer 401 c is set at λ/50or more where x is the wavelength of the communication frequency of theRFID circuit element To. This will be described with reference to FIG.38.

FIG. 38 shows an example of an influence exerted onto a communicationstate between the RFID circuit element To and the antenna provided onthe device side when a metal is placed near the RFID circuit element To.The abscissa axis indicates a distance k between the RFID circuitelement and the metal, whereas the ordinate axis indicates the maximumvalue (maximum communication distance Lmax) of a communication distanceL from the antenna. The maximum communication distance Lmax isrepresented as a relative distance in which 152 cm, which is acommunication distance fixed when no metal is present, is assumed as100%.

As shown in FIG. 38, in this example, the frequency of a communicationradio wave is a 2.45 GHz band (wavelength λ=12 cm). As shown here, themaximum communication distance Lmax parabolically increases anddecreases in proportion to an increase in the distance k between theRFID circuit element and the metal from 0 (zero), and reaches theminimum value when k≅6 cm (=λ/2). When the distance k increases fromthis, the maximum communication distance Lmax parabolically increasesagain.

As shown in FIG. 38, one characteristic resides in the fact that themaximum communication distance Lmax sharply decreases in proportion tothe nearness of the distance k between the RFID circuit element and themetal to 0 (zero). However, it is understood that, if k≧0.24 cm (=λ/50),the maximum communication distance Lmax equal to or greater than atleast 50% (≧50%) can be secured.

Advantageously, an adverse influence to be exerted on a radio-wavesending and receiving function of the RFID circuit element To can bereduced or prevented by setting the lower limit of the thickness of theaffixing adhesive layer 401 in this way (in other words, by relativelythickening the layer) even when the produced RFID label T is affixed toa metallic object. The same layer (tag tape base layer) as the base film401 a may be additionally provided closer to the separation sheet 401 dthan the affixing adhesive layer 401 c so that the distance can becreated by the total thickness of the added layer and the adhesive layer401 c.

In the foregoing embodiment, for example, the cartridge 400 isdetachably attached to the main body of the tag-label producing device.However, without being limited to this, a non-detachable, so-calledinstalled type or built-in type cartridge may be used, and be providedwith, for example, the first roll 402 therein. Also, in this case, thesame effect can be obtained.

Additionally, in the foregoing embodiment, the tag-label producingdevice 302 reads RFID tag information from the IC circuit part 451 ofthe RFID circuit element To or writes RFID tag information thereonto,and performs printing for identifying the RFID circuit element To by useof the thermal head 310. However, the printing does not necessarily needto be performed. The tag-label producing device 302 may merely read orwrite RFID tag information.

The present invention can be embodied in variously altered or modifiedforms in the scope not departing from the gist thereof although thedetails of such forms are not described here.

1. A method for producing a RFID label, the method comprising: conveyinga first label base material which is transparent from a first holdingportion holding the first label base material; forming an image on asurface of the first label base material; conveying a second label basematerial including at least one of a RFID antenna conductor and an ICchip from a second holding portion holding the second label basematerial; and joining the second label base material and the first labelbase material on which an image has been formed together, wherein, whenan image is formed on the first label base material, the image is formedon a surface of the first label base material, the surface being joinedto the second label base material.
 2. A RFID label wherein beingproduced according to the method of claim
 1. 3. A device for producing aRFID label, the device comprising: a first holding portion that holds afirst label base material which is transparent; a second holding portionthat holds a second label base material including at least one of a RFIDantenna conductor and an IC chip; a joining means for adjusting thefirst label base material and the second label base material in a widthdirection and joining the first and second label base materials togetherwhile conveying the first label base material and the second label basematerial; a conveying-path forming means for forming a conveying path toconvey the first label base material and the second label base materialalong mutually different paths from each of the first and second holdingportions to a position at which the first label base material and thesecond label base material are joined together by the joining means; andan image forming means for forming an image on one side of the firstlabel base material on the conveying path of the first label basematerial formed by the conveying-path forming means; wherein the imageforming means forms an image on a surface of the first label basematerial, the surface being joined to the second label base material. 4.The device of claim 3 wherein the joining means consists of a pair ofrollers between which the first label base material and the second labelbase material are sandwiched, and the first label base material and thesecond label base material are joined together by rotations of each ofthe rollers while being conveyed.
 5. The device of claim 4 wherein thefirst holding portion, the second holding portion, the conveying-pathforming means, and one of the two rollers that constitute the joiningmeans are disposed within a cartridge detachably attached to a main bodyof the RFID label producing device.
 6. The device of any one of claim 3,wherein the conveying-path forming means forms a space so as not to comeinto contact with a range where an image can be formed on animage-formed side of the first label base material in an area rangingfrom a position at which an image is formed by the image forming meanson the conveying path of the first label base material to a position atwhich the first and second label base materials are joined together bythe joining means.
 7. A cartridge used for a RFID label, the cartridgecapable of being detachably attached to a RFID label producing devicethat has an image forming means for forming an image on a surface of alabel base material, the cartridge comprising: a first holding portionthat holds a first label base material which is transparent; a secondholding portion that holds a second label base material including atleast one of a RFID antenna conductor and an IC chip; a joining partthat adjusts the first label base material and the second label basematerial in a width direction and joins the first and second label basematerials together in cooperation with a joining mechanism provided inthe RFID label producing device; and a conveying-path forming means forforming a conveying path to convey the first label base material and thesecond label base material to the joining part, the image forming meansof the RFID label producing device being disposed near the conveyingpath of the first label base material so that an image can be formed ona surface of the first label base material, the surface being joined tothe second label base material when the cartridge is mounted in a mainbody of the RFID label producing device.
 8. The cartridge of claim 7,wherein the conveying-path forming means forms a space so as not to comeinto contact with a range where an image can be formed on animage-formed side of the first label base material in an area rangingfrom a position at which an image is formed by the image forming meanson the conveying path of the first label base material to the joiningpart.
 9. A sheet member used for a RFID label, the sheet memberincluding an information discriminating portion capable of wirelesslydiscriminating information, the sheet member being shaped like a sheet,the sheet member comprising: an adhesive layer in contact with theinformation discriminating portion; and a sheet-shaped separation memberpeelably stacked on the adhesive layer, wherein the sheet member beingstacked in an adjusted manner together with other sheet members used forRFID labels.
 10. A sheet member used for a RFID label, the sheet memberincluding an information discriminating portion capable of wirelesslydiscriminating information, the sheet member being shaped like a sheet,the sheet member comprising: an adhesive layer in contact with theinformation discriminating portion; and a sheet-shaped separation memberpeelably stacked on the adhesive layer, wherein the sheet member beingwound like a roll.
 11. The sheet member of claim 10, wherein a pluralityof the information discriminating portions are disposed on the adhesivelayer.
 12. The sheet member of any one of claim 9, wherein the adhesivelayer consists of a first adhesive layer peelably stacked on theseparation member and a second adhesive layer placed on a surface of thefirst adhesive layer which is an opposite surface of the first adhesivelayer on which the separation member is placed, and the informationdiscriminating portion is disposed between the first adhesive layer andthe second adhesive layer.
 13. The sheet member for RFID labels of claim12, further comprising a base material harder than each of the first andsecond adhesive layers, the base material being disposed between thefirst and second adhesive layers.
 14. The sheet member of claim 13,wherein the base material is opaque, and the information discriminatingportion is disposed between the base material and the first adhesivelayer.
 15. The sheet member of any one of claim 12, wherein: the firstadhesive layer serves to fix the sheet member used for a RFID label toan article, whereas the second adhesive layer serves to join the sheetmember used for a RFID label and a sheet-shaped member substantiallyequal in width to the sheet member used for a RFID label together whileadjusting the sheet member and the sheet-shaped member in a widthdirection, and only the separation member is separated from the sheetmember used for a RFID label when the sheet member used for a RFID labelis fixed to the article.
 16. The sheet member of any one of claim 9,wherein the sheet member used for a RFID label is contained in any oneof an image forming device for forming an identification image on thesheet member, an identification data writing device for writingidentification data onto the information discriminating portion, acartridge attachable to at least one of the image forming device and theidentification data writing device, and a wrapper for enclosing thesheet member.
 17. The sheet member of any one of claim 10, wherein theadhesive layer consists of a first adhesive layer peelably stacked onthe separation member and a second adhesive layer placed on a surface ofthe first adhesive layer which is an opposite surface of the firstadhesive layer on which the separation member is placed, and theinformation discriminating portion is disposed between the firstadhesive layer and the second adhesive layer.
 18. The sheet member forRFID labels of claim 17, further comprising a base material harder thaneach of the first and second adhesive layers, the base material beingdisposed between the first and second adhesive layers.
 19. The sheetmember of claim 18, wherein the base material is opaque, and theinformation discriminating portion is disposed between the base materialand the first adhesive layer.
 20. The sheet member of any one of claim17, wherein: the first adhesive layer serves to fix the sheet memberused for a RFID label to an article, whereas the second adhesive layerserves to join the sheet member used for a RFID label and a sheet-shapedmember substantially equal in width to the sheet member used for a RFIDlabel together while adjusting the sheet member and the sheet-shapedmember in a width direction, and only the separation member is separatedfrom the sheet member used for a RFID label when the sheet member usedfor a RFID label is fixed to the article.
 21. The sheet member of anyoneof claim 10, wherein the sheet member used for a RFID label is containedin any one of an image forming device for forming an identificationimage on the sheet member, an identification data writing device forwriting identification data onto the information discriminating portion,a cartridge attachable to at least one of the image forming device andthe identification data writing device, and a wrapper for enclosing thesheet member.
 22. A sheet member used for a RFID label, wherein aplurality of information discriminating portions that can discriminateinformation by radio are disposed in the sheet member in a longitudinaldirection of the sheet member, and adjoining information discriminatingportions of the plurality of information discriminating portions aredeviated from each other in a direction perpendicular to thelongitudinal direction of the sheet member.
 23. A sheet member used fora RFID label, the sheet member being formed by arranging a plurality ofinformation discriminating portions, each of which can discriminateinformation by radio and is long, in a band-shaped sheet member in alongitudinal direction of the band-shaped sheet member and by windingthe band-shaped sheet member like a roll, wherein the plurality ofinformation discriminating portions are arranged to be nonparallel to anaxis extending in the longitudinal direction of the sheet member. 24.The sheet member of claim 22, wherein adjoining informationdiscriminating portions of the plurality of information discriminatingportions are disposed axisymmetrically with respect to a center axisbetween the adjoining information discriminating portions.
 25. A sheetmember used for a RFID label, wherein a plurality of informationdiscriminating portions each of which consists of a RFID element and aRFID antenna conductor are arranged in a band-shaped sheet member in alongitudinal direction of the band-shaped sheet member, the plurality ofinformation discriminating portions being deviated from each other in adirection perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the sheetmember.
 26. A sheet member used for a RFID label in which a plurality ofholding sheet members each of which holds an information discriminatingportion capable of discriminating information by radio are stackedtogether, wherein the plurality of holding sheet members are stackedtogether so that positions of the information discriminating portions ofthe holding sheet members facing each other differ from each other in aplane perpendicular to a direction in which the plurality of holdingsheet members are stacked together.
 27. The sheet member of anyone ofclaim 22, wherein the sheet member used for a RFID label is contained inany one of an image forming device for forming an identification imageon the sheet member, an identification data writing device for writingidentification data onto the information discriminating portion, acartridge attachable to at least one of the image forming device and theidentification data writing device, and a wrapper for enclosing thesheet member.
 28. The sheet member of anyone of claim 23, wherein thesheet member used for a RFID label is contained in any one of an imageforming device for forming an identification image on the sheet member,an identification data writing device for writing identification dataonto the information discriminating portion, a cartridge attachable toat least one of the image forming device and the identification datawriting device, and a wrapper for enclosing the sheet member.
 29. Thesheet member of any one of claim 25, wherein the sheet member used for aRFID label is contained in any one of an image forming device forforming an identification image on the sheet member, an identificationdata writing device for writing identification data onto the informationdiscriminating portion, a cartridge attachable to at least one of theimage forming device and the identification data writing device, and awrapper for enclosing the sheet member.
 30. The sheet member of anyoneof claim 26, wherein the sheet member used for a RFID label is containedin any one of an image forming device for forming an identificationimage on the sheet member, an identification data writing device forwriting identification data onto the information discriminating portion,a cartridge attachable to at least one of the image forming device andthe identification data writing device, and a wrapper for enclosing thesheet member.
 31. A device for producing a RFID label, the devicecomprising: an image forming means for forming an image on animage-formed object; and a conveying means for joining a sheet memberhaving an information discriminating portion capable of discriminatinginformation by radio and the image-formed object on which an image hasbeen formed by the image forming means together while conveying thesheet member, wherein a pressure absorbing means for absorbing apressing force exerted on the information discriminating portion of thesheet member is formed on a contact surface of the conveying means withwhich the sheet member is brought into contact.
 32. The device of claim31, wherein the conveying means comprises a pair of rollers, and thepressure absorbing means is a plurality of concave parts formed in aroller surface of at least one of the pair of rollers over an entireperiphery of the roller.
 33. The device of claim 31, wherein theconveying means comprises a pair of rollers, and the pressure absorbingmeans is an elastic body disposed on a roller surface of at least one ofthe pair of rollers, the elastic body being elastically deformable inaccordance with the shape of a swell of a sheet surface of the sheetmember.
 34. The device of claim 32, wherein the pair of rollers aredisposed at a discharge portion from which the band-shaped sheet memberis discharged outwardly.
 35. The device of claim 33, wherein the pair ofrollers are disposed at a discharge portion from which the band-shapedsheet member is discharged outwardly.
 36. The device of any one of claim31, wherein the image forming means is a thermal head that forms animage on the image-formed object with heat.
 37. The device of any one ofclaim 31, wherein the image forming means is an ink jet head that formsan image on the image-formed object by discharging ink.
 38. A device forproducing a RFID label comprising: an image forming means having athermal head or an ink jet head for forming an image on an image-formedobject having an information discriminating portion capable ofdiscriminating information by radio; and a platen facing the imageforming means and coming into contact with the image-formed object inorder to allow the image-formed object to move along the thermal head orthe ink jet head, wherein the platen is provided with at least one of anelastic body and a concave part used to absorb a pressing force betweenthe information discriminating portion and the thermal head or the inkjet head by being elastically deformed by the information discriminatingportion of the image-formed object or used to reduce the approach of theimage-formed object and the thermal head or the inkjet head to eachother caused by the information discriminating portion.
 39. A cartridgeused for a RFID label, the cartridge being detachably attached to a RFIDlabel producing device including an image forming means for forming animage on an image-formed object, the cartridge comprising: a holdingportion that holds a sheet member having an information discriminatingportion capable of discriminating information by radio and theimage-formed object in a state in which the sheet member and theimage-formed object are wound like a roll; a conveying path to conveythe sheet member and the image- formed object along mutually differentpaths from the holding portion to a stack position at which the sheetmember and the image-formed object are stacked together; an insertionhole formed in the conveying path of the image-formed object, theinsertion hole used to insert the image forming means provided on theside of the RFID label producing device; and a roller disposed at thestack position on the side of an end of the conveying path, the rollerstacking the sheet member and the image-formed object together whileconveying the sheet member and the image-formed object in cooperationwith a roller provided in the RFID label producing device, whereinformed is a pressure absorbing means for absorbing a pressing forceexerted on the information discriminating portion of the sheet member ona roller surface of the roller.
 40. The cartridge of claim 39, whereinthe pressure absorbing means comprises a plurality of concave partsformed in the roller over an entire periphery of the roller surface ofthe roller.
 41. The cartridge of claim 39, wherein the pressureabsorbing means comprises an elastic body that is elastically deformedin accordance with the shape of a swell of a sheet surface of the sheetmember.
 42. A RFID label comprising: a to-be-printed tape layer on whichpredetermined print characters are printed; a tag tape base layer usedto dispose a RFID circuit element; a gluing adhesive layer used to gluethe tag tape base layer onto the to-be-printed tape layer; a fixingadhesive layer used to fix the RFID circuit element to the tag tape baselayer; an affixing adhesive layer provided to affix the RFID circuitelement onto a specified object; and a separation material layer withwhich the affixing adhesive layer is covered, the separation materiallayer disposed peelably from the affixing adhesive layer.
 43. The RFIDlabel of claim 42, further comprising an intermediate tag tape baselayer provided between the tag tape base layer and the separationmaterial layer.
 44. A tag tape comprising: a to-be-printed tape layer onwhich predetermined print characters are printed; a tag tape base layerprovided to dispose a plurality of RFID circuit elements in alongitudinal direction with predetermined intervals; a gluing adhesivelayer provided to glue the tag tape base layer onto the to-be-printedtape layer; a fixing adhesive layer provided to fix the RFID circuitelement to the tag tape base layer; an affixing adhesive layer providedto affix the RFID circuit element onto a specified object; and aseparation material layer with which the affixing adhesive layer iscovered, the separation material layer disposed peelably from theaffixing adhesive layer.
 45. The tag tape of claim 44, furthercomprising an intermediate tag tape base layer provided between the tagtape base layer and the separation material layer.
 46. A tag tape rollformed by winding a tag tape around an axis substantially perpendicularto a longitudinal direction of the tape, the tag tape comprising: ato-be-printed tape layer on which predetermined print characters areprinted; a tag tape base layer provided to dispose a plurality of RFIDcircuit elements in a longitudinal direction with predeterminedintervals; a gluing adhesive layer provided to glue the tag tape baselayer onto the to-be-printed tape layer; a fixing adhesive layerprovided to fix the RFID circuit element to the tag tape base layer; anaffixing adhesive layer provided to affix the RFID circuit element ontoa specified object; and a separation material layer with which theaffixing adhesive layer is covered, the separation material layerdisposed peelably from the affixing adhesive layer.
 47. The tag taperoll of claim 46, wherein the gluing adhesive layer, the fixing adhesivelayer, and the affixing adhesive layer are formed by being properlyselected so as to have desired adhesive characteristics.
 48. The tagtape roll of claim 46, wherein at least two of the gluing adhesivelayer, the fixing adhesive layer, and the affixing adhesive layer areformed to differ from each other in adhesive characteristics.
 49. Thetag tape roll of claim 46, wherein the gluing adhesive layer, the fixingadhesive layer, and the affixing adhesive layer are formed to havesubstantially the same adhesive force.
 50. The tag tape roll of claim46, wherein the tag tape roll has an intermediate tag tape base layerprovided between the tag tape base layer and the separation materiallayer.
 51. The tag tape roll of claim 50, wherein the tag tape roll hasan intermediate adhesive layer placed between the fixing adhesive layerand the intermediate tag tape base layer.
 52. The tag tape roll of claim43, wherein the gluing adhesive layer, the fixing adhesive layer, theintermediate adhesive layer, and the affixing adhesive layer are formedby being properly selected so as to have desired adhesivecharacteristics.
 53. The tag tape roll of claim 51, wherein at least twoof the gluing adhesive layer, the fixing adhesive layer, theintermediate adhesive layer, and the affixing adhesive layer are formedto differ from each other in adhesive characteristics.
 54. The tag taperoll of claim 46, wherein the gluing adhesive layer, the fixing adhesivelayer, the intermediate adhesive layer, and the affixing adhesive layerare formed to have substantially the same adhesive force.
 55. The tagtape roll of claim 47, wherein the affixing adhesive layer is formed tobecome weaker in adhesive force than the other adhesive layers.
 56. Thetag tape roll of claim 47, wherein the affixing adhesive layer is formedto become stronger in adhesive force than the other adhesive layers. 57.The tag tape roll of claim 52, wherein the affixing adhesive layer isformed to become weaker in adhesive force than the other adhesivelayers.
 58. The tag tape roll of claim 52, wherein the affixing adhesivelayer is formed to become stronger in adhesive force than the otheradhesive layers.
 59. The tag tape roll of claim 47, wherein the gluingadhesive layer or the fixing adhesive layer is formed to become weakerin cohesive force than the other adhesive layers.
 60. The tag tape rollof claim 52, wherein the gluing adhesive layer or the fixing adhesivelayer or the intermediate adhesive layer is formed to become stronger inadhesive force than the other adhesive layers.
 61. The tag tape roll ofany one of claim 46, wherein at least one of the gluing adhesive layerand the fixing adhesive layer is formed by an adhesive agent colored indesired color.
 62. The tag tape roll of any one of claim 46, wherein athickness of the affixing adhesive layer is set at λ/50 or more where Xis a wavelength of a communication frequency of the RFID circuitelement.
 63. The tag tape roll of any one of claim 46, wherein anattracting magnetic layer is provided instead of the separation materiallayer, and an attaching adhesive layer to attach the magnetic layer tothe fixing adhesive layer is provided instead of the affixing adhesivelayer, the attaching adhesive layer being placed between the magneticlayer and the fixing adhesive layer.
 64. The tag tape roll of any one ofclaim 46, wherein a detachable element is provided instead of theseparation material layer, and an attaching adhesive layer to attach thedetachable element to the fixing adhesive layer is provided instead ofthe affixing adhesive layer, the attaching adhesive layer being placedbetween the detachable element and the fixing adhesive layer.
 65. Thetag tape roll of any one of claim 50, wherein the affixing adhesivelayer and the separation material layer are omitted, and theintermediate tag tape base layer is placed as an outermost layer.